Hope Shines in the Night
by MagicLover1001
Summary: Lucy is kidnapped and forced into activities she doesn't want to take part in. After she is found and brought back home will Natsu be the light for her and help her recover from the trauma she went through while she was gone. *Rated M for sexual violence in the beginning of story.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi guys, I just wanted to apologize to those who first read this fanfiction story that had an editing error in it. I guess I was just so exited to get it up that I missed that the section breaks I had in this chapter and the next chapter didn't show up when I first posted the chapters. I would like to thank everyone who have followed or even put the story in their favorites so far. I hope everyone enjoys this fancfiction story. Also feel free to put your comments in the reviews since it is the comments of the readers who help create better writers._

Chapter 1

Lucy sat down at the bar with a heavy sigh. Mira looked over at her with a concerned looked. A groan escaped Lucy's lips as she put her head down on the counter. Not even the sound of Mira setting her strawberry milkshake down next to her could get Lucy to lift her head.

"Lucy is everything okay?" Mira asked.

Lucy lifted her head slightly and Mira could see the slight bags under her eyes.

"Having trouble sleeping?" she asked the blonde.

"I just can't shake this feeling," Lucy said planting her head in her hands.

"What feeling?" Mira pressed.

Lucy took a deep breath. She quickly looked around the room, and her eyes stopped when they came across the pink haired dragon slayer. When she looked back at Mira, she saw a little smile on her lips.

"It has nothing to do with Natsu," Lucy told her "I just have this feeling that someone is following me…and that they've been in my apartment multiple times."

Concern and worry covered Mira's face. "Have you told anyone…like a certain dragon slayer?"

"No." Lucy shook her head. "I feel like I'm just imagining things."

"What are you imagining now Luce?" Natsu said slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Nothing," Lucy said. She grabbed her milkshake and started to drink some. Lucy glared at Mira trying to tell her to not say anything.

"Lucy thinks she has a stalker that's breaking into her house," Mira said winking at Lucy.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nastu asked sitting down next to her.

"Because the last time I felt like this it was just my dad who wanted money from me." Lucy set her unfinished milkshake on the counter. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Don't be late this time!" Natsu yelled.

"Six o'clock sharp." Lucy waved bye as she made her way back to her apartment.

Even with her guard up, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following her home. Lucy looked both ways before she entered her apartment building. Her heart seemed to pound harder and faster the closer she got to her apartment. When she got to her door she had an unwavering gut feeling that she should turn around and leave. Lucy went to go put her key in, but the door opened with the slightest touch. A hand covered her mouth before she could utter a sound. She elbowed them in the ribs and turned around to face her attacker. Lucy had managed to put a few feet between them. It was then that she noticed that it was two men who had broken into her apartment. When her hand went to grab her keys the man with red hair cast a spell that froze her in place. The second man blasted Lucy with his own spell that sent her flying into the wall hard. Lucy tried to stand up but her vision had black spots in it. Before she could register anything else she was hit hard in the head and everything went black.

...

"Natsu, why is Lucy always late?" Happy asked, flying around Natsu's head.

"I don't know, but she promised to be on time today," Nastu sighed.

"Did she fall asleep and that's why she's an hour late?" Happy said while he pointed to the dark apartment.

Natsu then remembered Mira telling him that Lucy thought someone was following her and breaking into her house. He ran as fast as he could and instead of going through the window like he normally did Natsu ran to the front door. His heart seemed to stop when he saw that it was wide open. When he turned on the lights he saw that Lucy was nowhere to be seen. His eyes narrowed in on the site of blood and her keys.

"Damn it!" Natsu yelled punching a whole in her wall.

It was then that Natsu caught the scent of two strangers in the apartment. One of them smelled light the faint scent he has caught in the apartment a couple times throughout the month.

"Natsu, what's wrong?"

Natsu didn't say anything. Instead he walked out of the apartment and headed to the guild. Happy stayed quiet the entire time since he noticed that Natsu was really angry. When he burst through the guild doors everyone seemed to quiet down.

"Natsu, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to meet up with Lucy an hour ago," Mira asked coming close to the dragon slayer.

"Lucy didn't show up," Happy said.

"Natsu what's wrong?" Erza asked.

"Lucy's been injured and kidnapped," Natsu growled.

...

When Lucy woke up she was chained to the wall completely nude. Every part of her body was sore and she already had bruises forming on her abdomen. She tried to pull herself up from the cuffs, but instead they cut into her wrists.

"Looks like she's finally awake," the man with red hair said flicking her nipple. "Now it's masters turn to have fun with you. Although I already called dibs after him for when you were awake. After all it's more fun rapping someone when they're conscious. I can't wait to send these videos to my brother."

Panic rose in Lucy as she fought against the restraints. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a recording device. Everyone in the room laughed at her attempt to flee. Tears stung her eyes as she realized there was no hope for her. She closed her eyes when she saw someone with a black cape on walk toward her.

His hand squeezed her breast, as Lucy screamed, "No!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lucy woke up to the feeling of someone wrapping a blanket over her naked body. She didn't know how many days she had been in this room; all the days had mushed together. The only way she was able to survive every day were her memories of Natsu. Ever since the first day she was there she regretted the fact that she never told Natsu how she truly felt towards him. When she looked up at who had put the blanket around she realized that it was Jack.

"Sorry girly, but the boss wants me to take you to a new room for a client," he said before unlocking her cuffs.

She crumpled to the floor too tired and weak to hold her own weight. The guy just flung her body like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder and carried her out of the room. Soon her body felt really tired and she closed her eyes into a deep sleep.

When she woke up again Lucy realized that she was on a bed and there was a window that was open. She also noticed that her body and hair was clean. Lucy ran her hand along a simple long shirt covering her body. The first piece of clothing she had since she had been at the place. Her body tensed when she heard familiar voices come in through the window.

"I know you want to keep looking for her Natsu, but if we don't go on this mission we won't be able to pay her rent," Lucy heard Gray say.

"She's been gone for two months Gray," Natsu replied "I want to find her soon."

"We all do man."

"If you guys don't pick up the pace we won't make it before tomorrow night!" Erza yelled.

"Can we make camp here for the night I'm too tired to move forward," Wendy cried.

Erza sighed, "Good idea Wendy, I think we could all use a break. Natsu what are you doing?"

"I thought I smelled Lucy, but I guess I was wrong."

Lucy tried to yell to her friends, but someone covered her mouth. When she turned she saw that it was Jack. She started to fight when she saw that there was another man in the room. With as much strength as she could she brought her knee to his groin.

"You bitch, I'll teach you to fear attacking me," he growled. His fist made contact to her face. Jack turned to the other man and said, "I'm sorry sir, but it looks like I have to teach her some manners before you can have her."

Fear consumed her as she saw the anger in his eyes. Lucy was finally able to find her voice as she yelled, "No! Stop…Natsu…help…Natsu help me!"

...

Natsu had just set his stuff down on the ground when he heard someone scream his name. His entire body froze at the sound. The breeze brushed against his skin and his favorite smell in the entire world met his nose. Lucy. Before he could even register the information his body was already moving toward the scent and sound of his best friend.

"Hey Nastu, where are you going?" Gray yelled after him.

"I think he's going after Lucy," Wendy said shrugging her shoulders then froze.

"Did you just say Lucy?" Erza asked.

"Yeah, I can smell and hear her shouting to Natsu. Oh my god, we've finally found her," Wendy cried before the rest of the group chased after Natsu.

...

She felt pain in her abdomen from another blow he landed on her. Sight was blurry in one eye and her jaw felt completely sore which stopped her from yelling. Jack ripped the shirt she was wearing. Tears sprang to her eyes as she felt his fingers enter her and his tongue on her breast. Lucy felt his weight on top of her as he entered her. She dug her nails into his face trying to get him off of her. He then wrapped his hands around her neck and strangled her while he continued to pound into her. When Lucy thought that she was about to pass out Jack realized her, and then hit her again. Even with the sound of the doors bursting open Jack didn't stop his thrusts into Lucy.

"Sir, I told you that you couldn't have her until she learned her lesson for attacking me."

When no response came Jack looked over his shoulder to glare at the guy. It was then that he saw Natsu standing in the doorway, eyes narrowed at the sight before him.

"Who the hell are you?" Jack asked. He finally got up off of Lucy to face Natsu.

Natsu didn't say anything he just lunged at Jack and tossed him against the wall. The next thing he did was turn his attention to Lucy. He gently touched her cheek to wipe her tears away. In a swift movement Natsu pulled a sheet around her body and brought her to his chest.

"It's okay Luce, I'm here," Natsu said.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with my toy?" the red head asked.

Lucy clenched onto Natsu's jacket so tight that her knuckles turned white. He could feel her body start to shake in his arms.

"You're what?" Natsu growled.

"My sex toy or as the boss called her sex slave. Although others get to use her I was the one that found her and got the approval of the boss to snatch her."

"Are you saying you're…"Natsu tried to finish his sentence but his anger got the best of him when his whole body shot up in flames.

As tears started to fall from her face, Lucy used her hands to shield her tears from Natsu.

"What? Don't tell me you never fucked her?" the red head said shaking his head with a smirk "Oh wait I forgot, I was the one that took her virginity."

Natsu launched himself at the man. During the fight Lucy heard some noises come from somewhere in the mansion. When Erza, Gray and Wendy finally made it to the room Lucy's body was shaking uncontrollably. Wendy rushed to her side while Gray and Erza moved to where Natsu was. It took both Gray and Erza to pry him off the guy before Natsu actually killed him.

"Natsu calm down," Erza said holding his arms. Gray was busy binding the guy's arms behind his back with ice.

"But he—"

"What ever was going on here is stopped," Erza told him.

"He was the one that kidnapped Lucy and raped her!" Natsu yelled struggling against Erza's hold. "This place is a sex slave thing."

Gray body froze in his tracks and was about to take a step towards Lucy, but stopped when she flinched at him. "Natsu, him and everyone else have been captured. Lucy is safe, but she's really scared."

Natsu only calmed down when he looked at the trembling Lucy.

"Natsu…" Lucy cried trying to get up, but pain consumed her body.

Erza let him go and he walked over to Lucy taking her in his arms.

"Is this a dream?" Lucy whispered afraid that she would wake up any minute and he would be gone.

"No Luce, I'm right here," Natsu said rubbing her back.

"We're all here," Erza said patting Lucy's head. Gray stayed where he was, not sure if Lucy was okay with him being closer.

"I'm sorry I got scared by you Gray," Lucy cried.

"It's okay Lucy," Gray sighed. "Your wellbeing is more important right now."

Lucy then started to sob into Natsu's chest. Soon everyone followed Lucy and shed tears of joy that they had finally found their lost partner.

That night Nastu never let go of Lucy. He held her protectively in his arms by the fire. A frown formed on Nastu's face when he realized that she hadn't gone to sleep yet.

"Luce, you should get some sleep," Natsu whispered in her ear.

"No," she replied burying her face in his chest. "I'm afraid to sleep."

"I'll be here the entire time, so don't worry," he kissed the top of her head.

"I want to go home Natsu," Lucy whispered.

"I know you do."

"Nastu?" Lucy asked wrapping his blanket tighter around herself.

"Yeah." His eyes were gentle as he looked down at her.

"Thanks for not giving up on me."


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone! First I want to thank the people who have followed or even put the story into their favorites. It is those types of readers that motivate me to write the next chapter as fast as I can. Also I want to apologize for an editing mistake in the first two chapters when it came to section breaks. I have fixed them now that I spotted them. Oh and please feel free to let me know what you think of the story so far since it is your critiques that make me and every writer out there better.

Chapter 3

Natsu grunted as he shifted Lucy's sleeping body in his arms. He was glad that Gray had lent her a shirt and that she agreed to let him wrap her body in his blanket. Wendy was ahead of him opening the guild doors so that it would be easier for him to walk through.

"Wendy," Mira smiled as she dried a cup, "you're back so soon?"

"Only Natsu and I," Wendy replied looking down at the floor.

"Why would…" Mira started to say then trailed off as she dropped the cup in her hand.

Hearing the cup shatter caused everyone in the guild to look up and see the cause of her shock. Tears formed in Mira's eyes as she saw her lost friend finally made her way back home. Everyone got up out of their seats to great Lucy, but stopped when Natsu's flames covered both of their bodies. Natsu spotted Levy sitting next to Gajeel. He walked over to her and stopped when he was a couple feet away.

"Levy, could you go to Lucy's apartment and get her some clothes?" he asked.

"Sure," Levy answered, tears streaming down her face.

Natsu nodded his thanks but paused when a thought crossed his mind and said, "Oh, and her keys?"

He didn't wait for a response before he turned his body to head to the infirmary. It was then that Natsu noticed everyone had his or her eyes on him. When he felt Lucy start to move and make a small whimpering noise he knew it wasn't long until she woke up. With one look at Wendy they moved as fast as they could to the infirmary. Natsu had just put Lucy in the bed when she woke up.

"No…get off…please don't..no!" Lucy cried flinging her arms around

Natsu sat down on the bed wrapping his arms around her body and stroking her back.

"Shhhh, it's okay Lucy you're safe," he whispered in her ear. "You're back home. You're at Fairy Tail. You're safe…I'm here with you."

Lucy nodded her head into his neck and gripped his vest as tight as she could grip it. When Nastu pulled away from her slightly she let out a whimper. His eyes took in the fact that her body looked small in the shirt Gray lent her. He couldn't stand the fact that his scent was on her body with the rest of the men's scent who touched her over the past two months. Natsu sighed when he remembered how much lighter she felt when he carried her to the guild.

Natsu didn't notice that Lucy had crawled her way into his lap until he heard Mira gasp. Her eyes widened when she got a good look at Lucy and her tears flowed down at a faster pace. Lucy still had a nasty bruise on her fast from where Jack had hit her. All the other injuries that remained were only visible if she wasn't wearing Gray's shirt or had Natsu's blanket.

"Natsu," Wendy said once Lucy had calmed down enough to let go of her death grip of Natsu's vest. "I should probably heal her again."

He nodded and set Lucy down on the bed. The blanket that was around her fell to reveal several bruises on her legs. He started to pull away but stopped when Lucy grabbed his arm.

"Please stay," Lucy said.

"I'll be right outside." Natsu bent down to kiss her forehead. "Levy will be back soon with your clothe. I just need to make sure that Gramps knows that you're back and maybe and maybe figure out what Mira can cook for you. Will you be okay until then?"

Lucy nodded her head. Tears were forming in Natsu's eyes as he walked out of the infirmary. Mira followed him and frowned when she saw him lean against the wall with his head in his hands. Being back at the guild had been his breaking point. He needed to let his emotions out before he could face Lucy again.

"Natsu, what happened to Lucy?" Mira asked in a hushed voice.

The entire guild was quiet wanting to know what happened to their guild mate.

"I should have been there that night. I should have convinced her not to be in her apartment alone, and to take the whole stalker thing seriously," Natsu said and Mira noticed that he was crying. "If I was there I could have prevented…"

"Don't blame yourself Natsu," Mira said rubbing his back.

"She was kidnapped and made into a sex slave because I wasn't there for her," he whispered. "When I saw her she was…and she's lost so much weight from being held too."

"Sex slave," Mira said and the entire guild went stiff.

"Natsu!" Everyone heard Lucy scream from the back.

"Go to her," Mira told him as he stood up from the wall and wiped his face.

"But, I wanted to talk to you and see what she should eat since it was clear that —"

"She needs you," Lisanna stated. "Lucy doesn't care if she is hungry, barely clothed or even hurt. All she cares about is that you're near her so that she feels safe."

"You're right," he sighed.

"I'll figure out something and bring it in once it's done," Mira said giving him a tight squeeze. "I know you came out here so that she wouldn't see your tears."

"I need to be strong for her," Natsu replied. "I can't let her think that I'm in pain seeing her like that."

"But you also need to process your feeling too," she told him. "I'll let the master know that she has returned."

"Thanks."Natsu turned to reenter the infirmary.

"Oh and Natsu?"

"Yes?" he asked pausing before the door.

"You've matured a lot over the past couple months and it shows with how you're taking care of Lucy," Mira gave him a small smile.

"Or maybe I just liked everyone thinking I'm and idiot and immature," he laughed. "But when it comes to Lucy, I guess I do act differently."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lucy was back in her apartment. She had only returned a week ago, but she couldn't stand staying in the infirmary and hearing people talk about her. Nastu and her had argued over the fact that she wanted to return to her apartment, and it was only when Mira piped in that she would stop by everyday to help out that Natsu agreed to let her go back to her apartment. Tears ran from her eyes as she remembered everything that had happened to her. Her body still hurt too much for her to move around her apartment, so she normally stayed in bed unless she had to use the bathroom. For the past four days Mira would stop by the apartment to help Lucy bathe, which she was grateful for. Not wanting to leave her side Nastu would stay with her until he had to go to his house for a change of clothes. On the third day of leaving her he decided to just bring a bag of clothes with him to her apartment.

As Lucy started to move to her side she saw a bruise on her arm that was caused by someone holding her down. Her stomach started the turn from the memory and she instantly felt dirty. Slowly she got up and stumbled her way to the bathroom. She was already out of breath when she leaned against her sink. Lucy turned the water on as hot as it would go and waited for her bathtub to fill up. Carefully she undressed and bit her lip as dull pain emanated from the few broken ribs she still had even with Wendy's healing spell. The water made her hiss in slight pain while she slipped into the tub. Even though her skin felt like it was burning from the water, Lucy started to wash herself. By the time she heard the front door close her skin was red.

"Lucy, where are you?" Natsu asked. "Erza and Gray are back and want to see you."

Lucy didn't say anything. She continued to scrub her body as vicious as her injured body could handle. There was a knock on the bathroom door before she heard it open.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled when he saw her.

He grabbed one of her towels and wrapped it around her as he pulled her out of the steaming water.

"No, Natsu let me go," Lucy cried, "I need to get clean. I need to wash them off me."

"It's okay Lucy," Natsu whispered as he sat down on the bathroom ground. "Mira helped you bathe this morning. At the rate your going you might scrub yourself raw, and that water is way too hot for your skin."

"But I need it that hot. I'm too dirty. I need to wash them off." She didn't bother to hide her tears as she turned into his chest. Her shoulders shook with every sob that overwhelmed her body.

Nastu rubbed her back as he tried to calm her down. He took a deep breath when he heard her front door open and close. When he looked up Natsu saw Erza and Gray at the bathroom entrance and shook his head. He mouthed later to them and they nodded. Erza quietly set the jewels for Lucy's rent down by the door before she and Gray left.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A month had passed since Lucy's return and she finally stepped through the guild doors. Unlike in the past Lucy did not wear a skirt nor a form-fitting top. This time she wore baggy sweats and a baggy sweatshirt. Lucy didn't look at anyone as she made her way to the table that friends were at. With a deep breath Lucy hugged Erza then Gray.

"Thank you for helping Natsu pay my rent when I was…gone," Lucy said looking them in the eye.

"Your our guild mate Lucy," Gray said relieved that she was finally comfortable for him to be close to her. "Of course we would take care of your stuff while you were gone."

"Mira, lets get Lucy her favorite milkshake," Erza shouted.

Mira nodded before she smiled at Lucy.

"Lucy!" Levy yelled before she enveloped Lucy in a big hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Lucy replied.

Lucy was about to say something else when the rest of the guild started to swarm her. Even though she was back at the guild, she was still super nervous to be in big crowds still even if they were her guild mates. She was so overwhelmed that her body started to shake. Panic ran through her body when she felt big strong arms wrap around her and lift her up off the ground.

Lucy screamed, "No! Let me go!"

Elfman was confused by her panic to his hug, but immediately let her go. Lucy scrambled behind Gray and Erza trying to get her heart rate down. Elfman was even more confused when he saw tears in her eyes.

"What happened?" Natsu yelled as he burst through the guild door.

"Lucy freaked out when I hugged her," Elfman answered.

"Elfman…everyone," Natsu sighed, "You need to be careful around Lucy…her trust in men has been broken."

"But she's fine around you." Elfman pointed out.

"And it took her a month to let me be in arms length of her," Gray countered.

"Just wait for Lucy to come to you guys," Erza said. "Think of her as a stray dog. You need to earn her trust again."

Lucy pouted at Erza's comment and Cana laughed.

"But only for the men in the guild," Cana said wrapping her arm around Lucy's shoulder.

For the first time since she had returned Lucy truly smiled as she hugged Cana back.

When Lucy took a step away from her she saw the master and started to cry, "I'm sorry master I should have—"

"Lucy," Makarov stopped the rest of her sentence. "You do not have to apologize for anything. Take your time adjusting to guild life again. What you went through is something I wish none of my children had to go through."

Lucy nodded her head and turned to Natsu. She grabbed his arm and pulled him close. Natsu laughed when he realized she was using him to hide her tears from everyone. When she was done she went to take a step back, but was stopped when he wrapped his arm around her waist. Natsu then pulled her into his lap as they sat down at the table with the rest of their team.

"Hey Mira," Cana whispered so Natsu wouldn't hear. "We should start taking down more bets on certain things concerning Natsu and Lucy."

"You read my mind," Mira responded as she went to bring Lucy her strawberry milkshake.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey Everyone,_

 _First I would like to thank everyone that have posted reviews, followed or even put the story in their favorites. Second I would like to apologize for taking forever to update the story. Let's just say life got in the way. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and the next one will be updated soon. Please feel free to let me know what you think.  
_

Chapter 6

Lucy woke up screaming. Natsu jolted up off the floor and climbed into her bed. When she felt his hot skin touch her hands she calmed down. Tears still fell down her face. A small smile formed on her lips when she felt his lips touch her forehead. Without a word Natsu laid down on her bed with Lucy still in his arms. She snuggled into his chest. Hesitantly Natsu lifted Lucy's head up so that she looked at him. He paused when he felt her body stiffen. Once he felt her relax again Natsu brought his lips to hers.

Lucy responded to the kiss by pulling herself closer to him. Every moment that passed with their lips touching seemed to melt away her nightmare. Natsu smiled against her lips at her reaction to him.

"Natsu," Lucy said pulling away from him.

"Yeah."

"No more sleeping on my floor."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am," Lucy said kissing him lightly on the lips. "I'm just sorry it took me three months to tell you that."

"I don't care where I sleep, as long as I'm close to you at night."

"Natsu?" Lucy whispered "What are we going to do on the mission. I'm afraid to sleep in a room without you."

"We'll figure something out." Natsu kissed her forehead before closing his eyes. "For now we should just sleep and not worry about the mission."

"You're right," Lucy yawned.

When morning came Lucy woke up to Natsu's arms still wrapped around her waist. She tried to get out of his grip, but he just tightened his hold. Lucy gave up trying to get out of his hold and just enjoyed the moment. A lips spread into a wide smile as she took in how safe and loved she felt in that moment. Her hand then went to his chest. While she waited for Natsu to wake up she traced invisible hearts along his chest.

"Luce, that tickles," he mumbled pulling her closer.

"Sorry." She blushed laying her hand flat on his chest. "But we should be getting ready to meet everyone at the train station."

"Are you sure that you're ready to do a mission. I really don't mind taking extra jobs to help pay your rent, and I know that Mira loves your help at the guild."

"I need to do this. I can't let what happened to me dictate what I do for much longer," Lucy whispered. "And I know that I will be able to do it since you will be there with me."

"Erza, Gray, and Wendy will be there too," Natsu replied.

"I know, but I just feel a lot more calm when you're next to me. I mean it was my memories of you that got me through those two months."

Natsu brought his nose close to her neck and took a deep breath. Before he pulled away he kissed her behind the ear.

"I will never let anything happen to you again," Natsu whispered before sealing his promise with a kiss to her lips.

"Can we also keep our relationship a secret for now?" Lucy asked. "It's just…I want something in my life to stay private. Sometimes it's still hard for me to deal with everyone knowing what happened to me."

"We can keep this between us for as long as you like, but you do realize we will have to tell Happy."

"Yes I do realize that."

"Well, we should get ready before Erza comes here yelling at us for being late," he said giving her one last squeeze before getting out of the bed.

Lucy rushed to the bathroom to take a shower. While she was in the shower she mentally went over her packing list to make sure that she had packed everything she needed for the mission. It wasn't until she saw the red dragon stuffed animal that Natsu got her on her bed that she realized she hadn't packed that yet. She normally never brought it on her trips, but it did help her fall asleep when Natsu wasn't with her. On the nights that he was away on a mission she would hold it tight knowing that Natsu would always come for her no matter what happened. It was actually Mira who suggested she try to sleep with something he gave her when she found out that Lucy wasn't sleeping when Natsu was away on missions. The downside was that the stuffed animal never got her through a full night's sleep, but once she calmed down from her nightmare it would bring a smile on her lips.

"Why are you packing the stuffed animal I got you?" Natsu asked wrapping his arms around her waist.

A blush covered Lucy's cheeks as she said, "It helps me fall asleep when you're not with me."

They both jumped when they heard a knock on the door. Lucy quickly shoved the stuffed animal in her bag and went to answer the door. Wendy and Charlie were standing at the door.

"Wendy, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked.

"Well, Charlie and I just wanted to make sure that you're joining us on the mission," Wendy answered.

"Natsu and I were just about to head to the train station. Want to join us."

Wendy smiled at Lucy before she gave her a big hug.

"I'm so happy that you're finally joining us again. It's been way too long since we went on a mission together."

Lucy bit her lip to try not to focus on the reason why she hadn't joined them in the past five months. When Wendy let go of her she plastered a fake smile on her face that fooled the younger wizard.

"Come on we better hurry or else Erza might be mad at us," Natsu said placing his hand on the small of Lucy's back.

Lucy nodded and followed everyone out the door. She paused for a brief second when she went to lock the door. As her hand approached the lock she had a flashback to the night she was taken. Out of slight fear she pushed on the door to make sure that it was actually shut before she locked it. When Lucy turned back around to face Natsu she realized that she was holding her breath.

"You okay?" Natsu asked her.

"Of course," she lied.

"Then lets go meet up with the others."

..

Two hours later Lucy was sitting on the train curled up in a ball. She took deep breaths in held them and then let them out. For once Natsu had Wendy use Troia on him so that he would be conscious and not feeling sick in case Lucy needed him. Lucy closed her eyes when she felt Natsu wrap his arm around her. She uncurled her body and leaned into him. When she leaned in close she could smell his musky scent.

"Lucy, are you sure you're ready to go on a mission with us?" Erza asked eyeing her carefully.

"Yes, I'm just supper nervous since it has been a while."

"You'll do great," Gray told her. "Just like you always do."

"Thanks, but it's also my first time out of Magnolia since coming back."

Everyone avoided eye contact with her. Natsu pulled her tighter to his body. Lucy looked up and smiled at him. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"So, we just need to catch some bandits right?" Lucy asked.

"Yep," Happy said before he curled up in Lucy's lap.

"Sounds like it might be fun," she laughed.

"So Lucy, you're going to room with me, Wendy and Charlie like old times right?" Erza asked.

"Of course, wouldn't have it any other way," Lucy lied with a smile on her face.

..

Later that night Lucy woke up screaming into her pillow. Tears poured from her eyes as she felt the ghost touches from her dream on her skin. She quickly looked over to make sure that she didn't wake up Wendy, Charlie, nor Erza with her screams. Her arms pulled the dragon stuffed animal closer to her body. More than anything she wanted to be in Natsu's protective brace. Like always she has dreamed about the times she was used while she was held captive. Lucy groaned when she thought about the possibility of never truly escaping the place since she relives it every night. The only time she has never had those dreams were the few hours Natsu slept in her bed with her.

Her heart was still racing and she couldn't calm down. She turned over so that she could look at the clock in the room and saw that it was two in the morning. There was a light knock on the door and before she could decide not to answer it she saw happy outside their window. Without a doubt Lucy knew that it was Natsu who was at the door. Lucy let Happy into the room before she opened the door.

"I heard your screaming," Natsu whispered.

"How could you hear it and not anyone in my room?" Lucy asked.

"Well when Erza is out it's hard to wake her and I'm sure Wendy and Charlie heard you, but wanted to give you your space. Am I right Wendy?"

"Yes," they heard the girl in question answer.

"Come on, let's go to mine and Gray's room. You need to have a good night's sleep before tomorrow."

"Okay," Lucy responded.

"Happy can you sleep here and explain to Erza in the morning?" Natsu asked.

"Yep."

As they walked to his room Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand. He squeezed it before he pulled her into his arms.

"Do you mind me asking what you dream of when you wake up screaming or crying?" Natsu whispered.

"No, but I don't want to make you upset." A tear ran down her cheek as she looked up into Natsu's eyes.

"Please tell me."

"I relive what happened to me in my dreams," Lucy whispered, "That's why sometimes it's hard to calm me down or I just burst into tears when I wake up."

"I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner," Natsu told her kissing her neck.

"On the bright side I never have those dreams when you sleep in the bed with me," Lucy told him. "And they are getting better and less vivid."

"Hey, nobody expects you to bounce back right away."

"I just wish that I won't have these dreams anymore."

"I'm sure that one day you won't," Natsu said opening the door to his room


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When Lucy woke up she saw Gray looking down at her and Natsu. A deep blush covered her face. Gray gave her a smile before he dumped a bucket of ice water on the two of them. He doubled over laughing at Lucy's shriek and Natsu's sudden jump up off the bed.

"What the hell Gray!" both Natsu and Lucy yelled.

"Well, you two looked so comfy that I was afraid you wouldn't wake up any time soon.

"You saw that I was awake before you dumped that on us!" Lucy yelled.

She shivered before she sneezed. Lucy rubbed her hands against her arms trying to create warmth. Natsu wrapped his arms around her trying to get her warm.

"Welcome back to missions with us Lucy," Gray said before he left the room.

"Well, that's not how I imagined waking up," Natsu grumbled.

Lucy kissed him lightly on the lips before she got up.

"I'm going to take a shower to warm up, can you ask Erza or Wendy to bring me some clothes?" she asked walking over to the bathroom.

"Of course," he said before grabbing her hand and pulling her back to him. Natsu kissed her while pulling her body closer to him. "Good morning."

A half hour later Lucy was dressed and down stairs. Natsu had already ordered her a plate of pancakes. Lucy tugged on her t-shirt. She was still not comfortable wearing a skirt so she wore a pair of jeans. Lucy slathered her pancakes with butter and syrup.

"So when do we leave for the mission?" Lucy asked after taking a bite of her pancakes.

"As soon as you're done eating," Erza said finishing her juice.

…

Lucy ran through the forest chasing after one of the bandits. She was nervous that morning about the mission, but once she got going she got into her old groove. Her confidence was high and she was able to control her magic again. When she looked behind her she saw that she was the only one chasing this bandit. Fear of being by herself was at the back of her mind, but the reward money pushed her forward. Lucy followed the guy into the river. About halfway through the river her foot slipped in between two rocks and felt a sharp pain shoot up her ankle. She tried to get her foot out, but cringed in pain.

The man she was pursuing stopped what he running and turned around. A shiver went down Lucy's spine when she saw a smile cover his face.

"Gate of the lion open!" Lucy yelled.

"You called?" he said.

"Help me catch him, and then help get me out of the river," Lucy told him.

The water from the river was freezing and she started to shiver from the cold. She dived under the water to see in she could get a good look at her foot. Lucy saw that her foot was wedged between a few rocks that wouldn't budge. When she broke through the surface her face was met with drops of rain. From the corner of her eye she saw that Loke was still battling the bandit. The water was starting to get rougher and she it was becoming harder for her to stand up in the water. Lucy grabbed another key and summoned Virgo.

"You called princess," Virgo said standing next to her.

"Help me get my foot free," Lucy replied.

Virgo dived under the water and moved two of the rocks that trapped her foot. Lucy decided to just swim the rest of the way across the river. She saw that Loke had the bandit tied up and was wading over to her. When she got to the point where she kept hitting the bottom of the river Loke helped her to the bank.

"Thanks Loke," Lucy said once she was set down on the bank.

"No problem, I'm just glad I could help this time."

"Lucy!" she heard Natsu yell.

"I'm across the river!"

"Are you okay?"

"As good as I can be," Lucy replied. "You can return now Loke."

"Alright, just don't ever forget that your spirits are here for you," Loke said cupping her cheek.

Once Loke left she tried to stand up. Pain shot up her leg and was about to fall when warm strong arms caught her. Without having to turn around she knew that it was Natsu. Lucy turned as much as she could to face him. With a hesitant smile Lucy kissed him. Natsu pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss.

"What happened to your ankle?" Natsu asked breaking away from the kiss.

"It got stuck in some rocks in the river when I was chasing that guy." Lucy motioned to the tied out bandit.

"And you were able to take care of him without any help from us either," Natsu whispered against her neck.

"Loke helped catch him and Virgo helped free my foot."

"That may be true, but they're your spirits. I meant that without thinking twice you chased after him on your own. That's something you wouldn't have been able to do a month ago."

Lucy started to shiver and wrapped her arms around Natsu. When she placed her hands under his vest on his back he hissed. Puzzled Lucy looked up at his face.

"You're freezing," Natsu told her.

"Then just stand there and warm me up."

Lucy then turned away and sneezed. She put some light pressure on her foot and yelped in pain. Natsu's grip on her waist tightened as he steadied her.

"No, it's raining really hard now. We need to find the others and get back to the hotel."

"Natsu…Lucy!" Happy yelled as he flied down to them.

"Perfect timing Happy." Natsu smiled.

"I need you to carry Lucy back to the others while I carry the bandit."

"Aye sir."

Lucy frowned after she was up in the air with Happy. After three months of not feeling like herself, she finally started to feel a very small fraction of her old self returning.


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey, sorry it has taken me so long to update. I've been supper busy with my new job, but at least I'm really loving it. Hope you like the new chapter and sorry that it's so short. I'll try to update the next chapter ASAP._

Chapter 8

Lucy sneezed as she turned in bed. Her head was starting to hurt, but not near the pain that was throbbing in her ankle. By the time the group made it back to the hotel they were staying at her ankle had turned black and blue. Wendy was able to speed up the healing process of her torn ligament; however, she still couldn't put any weight on her foot.

She felt her bed dip. Opening her eyes she saw Natsu. A frown was on his lips, which caused her to pout. Lucy sneezed again before she sat up. Gray had decided to change rooms with Lucy so that her and Natsu could share a room. She put up a fight saying he didn't have to, but everyone said it would just be better for her and Natsu to share a room if she couldn't sleep without him. Happy then curled up next in her lap while Natsu leaned forward. Lucy thought that he was about to kiss her, but he just touched his forehead with his.

"You have a fever," he whispered.

"I'm fine, just cold from my tangle in the river," Lucy replied.

"That water was cold and it started to rain while you were stuck in it."

"I'm fine."

"How did it feel to be on a mission again?" Happy asked.

"Great, I didn't even think about my surroundings or if someone was watching me from afar. All I wanted to do was catch the bandit that ran off. It was as if I was my old self for that short period of time," Lucy answered bringing Happy to her chest for a hug. "I want to go on another mission."

"Well we can't do anything until your ankle is healed," Natsu told her, "And your cold it over."

"I don't have a cold," Lucy said right before she sneezed. "I am just feeling cold."

"Are you sure you didn't catch Cana's cold before we left? I mean if you did, Gray throwing ice water on us and you getting stuck in the river wouldn't have helped."

"Well, my head did feel heavy before we left," Lucy mumbled hoping Natsu didn't hear her.

"I'll go out and get some cold medicine for you," he said kissing her forehead.

"Happy can you stay with me and keep me company?" Lucy asked.

"Of course, but Lucy can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"When are you going to get heavy again?" Happy asked. "I mean it's nice that you don't weigh as much as you did before, but it doesn't feel right to me."

Natsu's back went rigid when he heard Happy's question. He knew that Lucy still wasn't eating as much as she should, but didn't want to force her to eat. When he looked at Lucy's face he saw that there were tears swimming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry to worry you Happy, it's just that it is still hard for me to eat."

"But why?" Happy asked.

"When I…was away they barely fed me. I would be lucky if I got one full meal each day. Normally they would give me stale bread with some cheese and that would be once a day."

"How about while I'm out I get us all some food," Natsu said standing up. "Whatever you want."

"I can really go for a cheese burger and fries," Lucy said with a blush.

"Got it, but you have to eat it all."

"I'll try." Lucy smiled.

. . .

Once Natsu was outside the hotel he punched the wall in anger. His fist remained in wall while he tried to get his anger under control. He was still mad at himself for not walking her home the night she was taken. Natsu couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he was actually there when they tried to kidnap her.

"What's got you all riled up?" he heard Gray ask.

"Lucy," Natsu replied moving his hands into his pockets.

"What is it this time?" Gray asked.

"I just heard her explain to Happy why she lost so much weight when she was…you know," Natsu trailed off.

"You know you shouldn't be beating yourself up over the fact you weren't there that night. Just like the rest of us you respected her wishes when she asked to not worry about her feeling like she was being watched or that someone broke into her apartment," Gray said putting his hands on his hips.

"Yes I should because I smelled them in her apartment before she was taken and…"

"And what?"

"She's…well…let's just say that she means a lot to me and because of me she was starved every day getting lucky if she got a full meal instead of the cheese and stale bread they would give her once a day," Natsu growled.

"Wow, that's awful," Gray rubbed the back of his neck before saying, "And Lucy means a lot to everyone else too."

"But she isn't your mate," Natsu grumbled.

"Mate?" Gray asked confused.

"I don't have time to explain and please don't tell anyone anything we talked about."

"Sure man."

"And will you put some damn clothes on?" Natsu yelled as he started to walk away.

Gray looked down at himself and saw that he was only in his boxers.

"Where are my clothes?" he mumbled.

…

Lucy was sitting up in the bed reading a book when Natsu returned. Her cheeks were more flushed than when he left. She smiled at him and motioned for him to come over. Natsu joined her on the bed and unpacked the food he bought. When she took a bite of her cheeseburger she moaned. While she ate, she could feel Natsu watching her. It felt weird that he would keep such a close eye on her, but she also knew that he was very concerned about her.

"I also got you your favorite milkshake," Natsu said leaning over her to put it on her nightstand.

"Thanks," Lucy sighed. "I'm sorry to cause you so much trouble."

"You're not trouble."

When Lucy looked him in the eyes she couldn't help the blush that spread through her cheeks. She then saw the brown bottle of medicine on his nightstand. Natsu followed her gaze and grabbed the bottle.

"You should take the medicine with your meal," he said handing her the bottle.

"I don't need it," Lucy grumbled before she sneezed again.

Natsu took the bottle out of her hand and her partially eaten cheeseburger. Confused Lucy watched him open the bottle and pour some into his mouth. Her eyes went wide with shock when he leaned over and kissed her. She moaned when he deepened the kiss and swallowed the medicine he poured into her mouth from the kiss. Lucy tried to bring his lips back to hers for another kiss, but Natsu easily slipped out of her grasp.

Lucy then gasped and yelled, "That's not fair! You…how…ugh."

"I told you to take your medicine, now lets finish our meals."

Lucy nodded her head and couldn't help but lean into him while they finished the meal he got her. She still couldn't believe that he had used the kiss to give her the medicine. It seemed like a scene that she read from one of her books. Lucy shook her head as she let the warmth of Natsu's body soak into her skin. Once again her mind and body seemed to be at peace just by having him in her presence.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Lucy, it's time to get up," a voice whispered in her ear.

Lucy shook her head in response and snuggled closer to the warmth she felt. A shiver ran through her body as she suddenly went cold.

"Her fever is back up," Natsu sighed as he lifted her into his arms.

"Lets get her home so she can rest up," Erza replied, "I'll see if Mira could stop by with her famous soup and medicine."

"It's so cold," Lucy mumbled.

"I know," Nastu whispered.

Nastu carried Lucy through the streets to her apartment. When he saw her landlady he waved to her and she gave a courtesy nod before rushing out the building. Holding her with one arm he opened her door before carrying her inside. He knew that she would probably want to bathe and change into her pajamas once Mira got here so he set her down on her bed before turning to her dresser. Even though she has yelled at him in the past when he's gone through her clothes he figured she wouldn't mind since she would need clean clothes and that they were dating. Once he had chosen her clothes he started to run the bath water.

"No…stop…hurts…no!" Lucy screamed sitting up.

Tears filled her eyes as she hugged her body tight. She couldn't tell if her shivers were from her nightmare or from her fever.

"Hey, are you okay?" Natsu said poking his head out the bathroom door.

"Yeah, I just remembered something I wish I didn't."

Natsu was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. Mira didn't wait for an answer as she poked her head through the door. In her hands was a big bag that she set on the kitchen table.

"Knock knock," Mira said at the bedroom door, "I hope you don't mind if I take over your kitchen for a while so I can make you my soup."

"Sure go ahead Mira," Lucy mumbled.

"Hey, why are you so down?" Mira asked sitting on the bed.

"Just had a bad dream about one of the things that happened to me while they had me," Lucy replied.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked rubbing her back.

"Can you help me bathe first? I feel really gross and I don't think I have the energy to not fall asleep in the water."

"Of course, let me—"

"I've already grabbed her clothes and got the bath ready," Natsu said leaving the bathroom. "If you don't mind I think I'll take a nap while the two of you are in there."

Once Lucy was in the bath Mira leaned against the tub and sighed. She wanted to know what happened to Lucy and help her but didn't want to push her.

"The scars on my body is what I remembered," Lucy whispered into the bubbles of her bath. "It's just hard to try and talk about it without breaking down or seeing the anger and regret in Natsu's eyes. He just blames himself too much for what happened."

"So what did you remember?" Mira asked.

"How I got the majority of the scars," Lucy replied. "One of the times they wanted to used me I didn't know who it was so I fought him and nailed him pretty good in a certain area. It was then that I noticed that it was the boss and that he was broadcasting it to someone else on the lacrima vision. He was so mad that to teach me a lesson on to not fight he grabbed something to beat me with and when that wasn't enough he grabbed a knife and went at my body. He said it was to remind me that the only people that would want my body were the people who paid him to have sex with me or the people that work for him. It was useless to try and love someone because I was his and no one would be able to find and rescue me. That was the last day I fought, after that I just gave up and did what they wanted until I heard Natsu and the other's in the surrounding forest. That's my biggest regret, giving up but it's hard when they keep saying things like that and when they're starving you."

"Oh sweetie, don't blame yourself. Be proud of the fact that you survived and that you're moving past that. Sure you're still getting nightmares and you're still not a hundred percent comfortable around the opposite sex but you've grown stronger. You haven't let that tragedy destroy you and that's why I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks," Lucy said hugging her. "You should have seen me on the mission. It felt like the old me was back."

"I'm glad to hear it."

Mira helped Lucy out of the tub then left to go get her soup ready. Once Lucy was dressed she hobbled back to her bed since her ankle still hurt. Lucy smiled when she pulled back the covers and saw Natsu sleeping soundly. She snuggled her body close to his so that his warmth would envelope her. A sigh escaped her lips when she felt him wrap his arms around her waist.

"You're fever's still pretty high," Natsu mumbled kissing her head.

"I guess," Lucy responded taking a deep breath and enjoyed the campfire and forest scent that always seemed to come off of him.

"And even with your scars both inside and out I still find you beautiful."

Lucy stiffened a bit before her eyes filled up with tears. "You heard?"

"Dragon slayer hearing remember?"

She nodded her head before she gave him a quick peck on the lips. They knew better than to try to do anything since Mira was in the kitchen. Lucy closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her as she waited for her hot meal to be made.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lucy huffed as she rummaged through her clothes. She had forgot to do her laundry for the past couple days and now she was all out of her longer tops. Tears stung her eyes as she realized that she would have to wear a shirt that would show her scars a little. With a sigh she pulled a light pink top on that stopped right below her belly button. She looked at herself in the mirror and touched the skin that was showing above her jeans. Her finger traced a scar that went from her pelvis to the back of her right hip. A sigh escaped her lips as she tried not to cry.

With a quick glance at the clock Lucy realized that she had fifteen minutes to go meet everyone at the guild. She took a deep breath as she grabbed her gate keys and apartment key before leaving her apartment. The entire walk to the guild Lucy felt like people were pointing and whispering. Once she walked through the doors of the guild her eyes searched for the one person she knew could calm her down. Instead what she found was Freed and Levy working on a containment spell and Natsu growling angrily behind the door. Even with the door shaking it didn't budge or break due to the spell.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked pausing in front of Levy.

"Well, Natsu lost his cool on two guys in front of the guild this morning. They were asking about you and showed him something on the lacrima vision then they we're getting beaten up really bad. Wendy is in the infirmary trying to heal as much as she can before they are taken to the hospital. They are most likely going to be there for a while," Levy told her shaking her head.

"What? Why would he do that?" Lucy asked.

"I don't— Lucy what…are those scars from when you were…" Levy dropped her question seeing the tears begin to form in her friend's eyes.

"Yeah, I usually hide them, but I ran out of clean shirts that do the tricks."

Levy was about to ask something when Natsu shouted "Why the hell does it smell like Lucy is crying? Let me out of here. Those guys deserve worse than what they got!"

"You will stay in there until I say you've calmed down enough!" the master yelled before turning around to head to his office.

Lucy squeaked while she jumped at the sudden appearance of Gajeel next to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and kept it there even when her body stiffened under her touch.

"Bunny girl and I need to have a conversation in private shrimp," Gajeel said before steering Lucy away from Levy to a room upstairs.

Once in the room he motioned for Lucy to sit down on the couch while he shut and locked the door. Her mind was telling her that she was safe, but her body was getting ready to fight. Subconsciously she moved her body to the edge of the couch and set her feet down in preparation to run.

"Calm down, I'm not going to do anything to you," Gajeel grumbled while he sat down on a chair that was in front of her yet out of arms reach.

"I know…well more like my mind knows, but my body doesn't. I'm sorry."

"Nothin to apologize about."

"So why did you bring me here?" Lucy asked forcing herself to sit back in the couch with her back resting against it.

"I figured that I should let you know what's going on with…Natsu. Especially since things might get a little worse now," Gajeel muttered.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"Well, unlike anyone else here I was able to hear the conversation Natsu had with those two idiots Natsu beat the shit out of."

Lucy didn't bother to say a word. All she did was raise an eyebrow at him and bite her lip nervous to hear what he had to say.

"They were asking if they could meet the hot blonde in that sex video they found and if they could get a turn with her since it seemed like she enjoyed fucking multiple guys at once and that you seemed to like pain too," he paused while he waited to see her response. Tears bubbled around her eyes before she squeezed them shut. "When they showed him the video they were talking about he snapped just like Laxas and I would have if it was a video of our mate being raped for the whole world to see."

"Mate?" Lucy asked tugging her shirt down.

"Like dragons any dragon slayer needs to find his or in Wendy's case her mate. In a way it's our other half, our soul mate. They are the one person who can calm us down and make us feel whole. When a slayer finds their mate all their instincts go into making sure they keep their mate safe and happy. Since finding a mate is so important it is also important to let them know that once they accept being your mate there is no going back. Dragons mate for life so we dragon slayers share that quality as well."

"How do you know that I'm Natsu's mate?" Lucy asked. "Shouldn't he have someone that's…I don't know more powerful and less pathetic."

"Hey, you aren't pathetic bunny girl nor does it matter how powerful a mate is. What is important is the fact that not only did Natsu have to go through his mate being taken from him, but he is also struggling from the fact that he wasn't able to protect you when you needed him the most. That's why he has been blaming himself for what happened to you, and now that he knows that there is this video of you he is going to be even worse when it comes to protecting you and not trying to beat up any guy that looks at you in the wrong way."

"You didn't answer how you knew that I was his mate."

"His scent is always covering you and your apartment. It will become even stronger once you two complete the mate bond. He was also pissed when I took you during the time I was with Phantom Lord. To him it was like another slayer was trying to take what was his. And don't worry about anyone else finding out about this. Only the dragon slayers know who each other's mates are since we are the one's with the heightened senses."

"What do you mean by mate bond?" Lucy asked before Gajeel could stand up.

"He really should be the one to explain it since it's very personal," Gajeel said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Please Gajeel, I need to know before I see him."

"A slayer marks their mate by biting them while they are…intimate," Gajeel mumbled. "Probably the only reason why he hasn't marked you yet is because he knows that you need to heal and be fully ready before he can perform the mating process."

"Thank you," Lucy said before leaving the room.

She ran down the stairs and stood in front of the room Natsu was locked up in. He was still trying to break the door down, but calmed down when she set her hand on the door.

"Levy am I able to go in there?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, the runes are just to prevent Natsu from leaving, but there isn't anything here that should prevent people from entering."

Lucy nodded her head before she twisted the doorknob. When she opened the door she saw that Nastu was still very upset. It looked like he had scales on his arms and his pupils were like slits. Once the door was shut Natsu turned to her and pushed her up against the wall. Surprised Lucy clung to him as she had a minor flash back of someone throwing her up against the wall before they had fun with her body. After she opened her eyes she saw that Natu's appearance had softened and it looked like he was about to apologize before she shook her head. Her hands cupped his face before bringing her lips to his. He kissed her back while pulling her closer to her body.

She sighed when she pulled away and whispered, "I'm sorry that you had to see that video."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you," Natsu replied rubbing her thumb across the exposed skin above her pants. "You're wearing one of your older shirts."

"Only because I ran out of clean shirts," a tear escaped. "Oh god, that's why everyone was looking at me this morning. They must have seen the video and seeing my scars confirmed it was me. Natsu what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to…I can't believe that…I'm so pathetic."

"Hey, you're not pathetic," Natsu growled. "And I will bash anyone who says otherwise."

Lucy hugged him tight. She buried her nose in his neck and took a deep breath. The panic she started to feel disappeared while she relaxed in his arms.

"I'm lucky to be your mate," Lucy sighed. "You always no what to say to calm me down."

She felt him stiffen at her words. He pulled back a little until he was able to stare into her chocolate brown eyes. Lucy leaned into his hand once he brought it up to her face.

"Gajeel talked to me, and I'm sorry that you haven't been able to claim me yet. I know that you are waiting for me to be ready and I'm grateful that you're doing that."

"I will always do what I can to make you happy and safe," Natsu said before giving her a peck on the lips. "I just can't believe that Gajeel told you all that."

"Well you did almost kill the guy you saw raping me, and from what I heard you got locked in here for doing the same thing to two guys."

A growl emitted from him. Lucy raised her eyebrow at him before she slapped him. He took a deep breath before he stepped back.

She then turned around and opened the door and said, "Levy take these runes down so that Natsu can take me home. Please Levy."

"Of course Lu-chan," she said getting up and glanced up at the second story seeing the master nod his approval.

"Does that mean we're hanging out at your apartment today?" Gray asked.

Lucy nodded as she and Natsu walked out of the room. A tear fell from her eye as she thought about the video being out there. She wiped it away before she grabbed Natsu's hand and walked toward the guild doors. Out of the corner of her eye she swears she saw some people whisper to Mira and hand her money while nodding in her and Natsu's direction. Natsu wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked out the guild doors. Lucy smiled at him while Gray and Erza joined them on her walk home.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A sigh escaped as she woke up to the morning light. When a strong arm pulled her closer to her heat source she laughed. Lucy turned to face the person behind her. After months of sharing the same bed with Natsu she learned that it was always a struggle to get him to wake up in the mornings.

"Natsu," she groaned trying to wiggle out of his hold.

"Go back to sleep, if we get up I have to get ready for my job," he moaned.

Lucy smiled at him before she kissed him. Before the kiss could deepen she pulled away. She pressed her hands against her chest and shoved him hard. A giggle came from her as she watched Natsu's eyes go big before falling out of the bed.

"If you don't start to get ready, then I won't want you to leave," Lucy said bringing her knees to her chest. "I mean it's been weeks since I had my last nightmare and I want to prove to myself that I will be alright on my own and I can't do that when you're here."

"It's okay Luce," Natsu said cupping her face. "Just keep in mind that no matter what happens I will always love you 'cause you are my mate."

Lucy nodded her head before she bit lightly bit his thumb. She heard Natsu growl before he brought his lips to hers.

"I should only be gone for a week," he said after he pulled away.

She nodded her head as she got out of bed. When she had gathered her clothes to change into she glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Natsu had his back to her before she darted off into the bathroom. While in the bathroom she decided to take a quick shower before getting dressed. After she had pulled her hair up into a side ponytail she heard Natsu groan.

"Luce, you don't have any food," he whined when she stepped out of the bathroom.

"That's because I planned to go shopping for food after you left," Lucy giggled when Natsu mocked that he was hurt by her words. "Come on, you and I both know you would have had all the food I had before you left."

"I wish you were coming with us," Nastu whispered.

Lucy sighed, "We all agreed that it would be best if I didn't go."

"I know I just don't like not being near you."

"Because you don't like not knowing if I'm alright?" Lucy asked hugging him.

Natsu huffed in response. His arms wrapped around her waist and brought her closer to his body. Lucy giggled when his breath tickled her neck.

"I'll be fine," Lucy said pulling away slightly to look into his onyx eyes. "I have the entire guild here, and I don't go anywhere without my keys. When you go on your mission to find those kidnapped girls try your hardest to find them for me. Make sure Erza, Wendy, and Lisanna are the ones to approach them first. If they seem timid make sure you and Gray stay behind them and let the girls cut the lose."

While she was talking Lucy's body turned stiff before she started to shake. Memories of when she was held captive started to invade her mind. The way they used her body at their want made her shudder. She felt Natsu's warm hands brush tears she didn't know she had away.

"Most importantly make sure that you make the girls feel safe," she finished saying burying her face in his chest.

"Let's get breakfast at the guild today," Natsu said rubbing her back.

Lucy pulled away and smiled at him before she grabbed her keys.

"I'll have to meet you there since I need to grab my stuff," he said heading towards her window.

"Okay, I'll order the usual for you!" Lucy yelled as he jumped out the window.

Two months had passed since Gajeel told her that she was Natsu's mate she was slowly starting to feel comfortable in her skin again. Since the weather was getting warmer she put on shorts and a tank top. When Natsu bought her new shirts he made sure that they were long enough to not show any skin around her waist. Somehow without her saying anything he knew that she was wanting to wear some of her short sleeved and tank tops, but didn't like the fact that when she raised her arms they showed her abdomen and the scars that are on there too.

To make her happy Natsu spent the entire day with her shopping for new clothes that she could wear comfortably and not have to worry about anyone seeing the scars that she was ashamed of. He even helped her pick out some new shorts too. Even though she got rid of a lot of her older clothes Lucy knew that one day she would be confident enough to wear them again, so in a suitcase in her closet were some of her favorite outfits.

Once she had her keys Lucy headed for her door. After she locked it she checked three times to make sure the door was locked. Satisfied she turned around and headed towards the guild. Even though she was mortified that a video of her rape ended up being shown around it seemed like everyone in town learned what Natsu had done to those two men and chose to act like they had never seen it. For days Lucy didn't want to walk around town because of all the looks she got that, but after her friends and a lot of persuading on Natsu's end she finally left her apartment. She got herself ready for the disapproving looks yet they never came. What made that day even better was that Wendy had made a potion for her to use on her scars so that they would lighten up in color. Wendy said that they wouldn't disappear, but it should help the scars stand out less. Lucy was really happy that she had that medicine because having the scars less visible helped her confidence in herself.

She was so wrapped up in her head that didn't even notice when she bumped into someone. If she had she would have seen the smirk on his face when she passed him.

When she finally made it to the Guild her stomach grumbled.

"Good morning Lucy," Mira chirped when Lucy walked through the guild doors.

"Morning Mira, can I get some strawberry pancakes for myself and the usual for Natsu?" Lucy asked sitting down at the bar.

"Of course, and I love your outfit today," Mira said.

Lucy blushed at her comment about her outfit. She believes that Natsu got the idea for the shopping day from Mira because once she started to wear her new clothes she wouldn't stop letting Lucy know how great she looked.

She felt a warm presence behind her and she leaned into the warm muscular chest. A laugh escaped her lips when she felt him pick her up and place her on his lap as he stole her stool.

"How'd you know I was there?" Natsu asked setting his stuff down next to him.

"I don't know," Lucy said tapping her chin, "I just knew you were behind me. So where is Happy?"

"He's still at with Wendy and Carla getting ready for the mission."

"You all ready Natsu?" Lissanna asked sitting down next him.

"Sure am, are you?" Natsu replied with his goofy smile.

"Yep, got the last of my stuff packed this morning."

"Thanks for taking my place Lisanna," Lucy said trying to get out of Natsu's lap but failed.

"No problem," Lisanna smiled.

Lucy understood her unsaid message about her understanding Lucy's feelings about the mission. Her smile back told Lisanna how much it meant to her.

"Whoever is abducting the girls must be powerful for them to want a Guild to help out."

"Or it could be a group that work together in the abductions," Lucy said to no one in particular. "I mean when they took me there were two of them and they used their powers together to overwhelm me before I could use any of my magic or fight back."

Lisanna couldn't help the frown that showed up from Lucy's statement. She was about to say something when Mira showed up with food for all three of them. Her frown soon turned into laughter when she saw Lucy struggle to get off of Natsu's lap only for him to growl and hold her closer in response. She brought her eyes to her sister and raised an eyebrow asking if they've started dating yet. Mira pouted and shook her head.

"Pink haired babies," Mira whispered to Lisanna.

"I know, but things have to happen with them first," Lisanna laughed at her sister's pout.

"What was that?" Lucy asked and looked even more confused when she saw that Natsu was blushing.

"Nothing, lets eat before the food gets cold," Lisanna responded taking a bite of her omelet.

By the time they finished eating Erza was at the front of the guild waiting for them. Natsu sighed as he finally allowed Lucy to get off of his lap. Before he could take a step Lucy gave him a hug. While she hugged him she took a deep breath to get a whiff of his campfire musky scent. This time she thought she smelled a bit of the woods on him as was confused as to why his scent was changing. Maybe she could ask Gajeel if it had anything to do with being mates.

"One week," he whispered before stepping away from her.

"I know," she whispered back.

After they left Lucy turned to Mira and gave her a small smile. Even though she knew she would be fine, she couldn't help but feel a little empty inside.

"They'll be fine," Mira said as she took the now empty plates. "And have you ever seen Natsu eat so…clean before?"

"Yes I have," Lucy giggled.

"Really?"

"Yeah, for the first month I got back Natsu wouldn't let me out of his hold and I was constantly yelling at him for getting food all over me when he ate. Erza ended up hearing our argument and beat him up until he finally learned how to eat cleanly with me in his lap. Well I guess he only eats nicely when I'm in his lap, the rest of the time he just stuffs his face since he doesn't have to worry about getting food all over me."

"When will the two of you learn that you're perfect for each other?" Mira whined as she turned around missing the mad blush Lucy's face was producing.

"Well, I better get some shopping done now that Natsu's gone. Got to restock my fridge," Lucy said waving goodbye to Mira even though she couldn't see it.

"Have fun," Mira chirped.

Hours had passed by the time Lucy was done at the market. She lost a good two hours at her favorite bookshop trying to figure out what books she should buy. When she got back to her apartment her arms were full with groceries. One hand held Loke's key and the other held the key to her apartment. As she leaned against the door to get a better position to open it her arm brushed the handle and the door opened.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A hand came at her but she easily dodged it as she dropped her groceries.

"Gate of the Lion I open thee, Leo" Lucy said as she got back onto her feet.

Getting ready to fight her body froze when she saw one of the people in her apartment. Red hair with freckles smirked at her. Images of him rapping and beating her swarmed her mind. Lucy's body started to shake as fear washed over her.

"Jack? How…I thought Natsu…" Lucy stammered not letting her fear overwhelm her."

"My brother did say you had an amazing body," the guy said as his hand began to glow. "I can't tell you how many times I've gotten off to the videos he sent me. Although seeing you here explains why my twin stopped sending them to me. You're lucky that you got away, but soon I'll make you mine."

"Not so fast!" Loke yelled stepping in front of Lucy.

Lucy stood there watching Loke frozen in place. When someone else came at her from behind Jack's brother she turned and ran for her door. She could barely hear Loke tell her to go to the guild over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears. Lucy didn't care that she ran into people on her way to the guild. When she was about two blocks away she heard someone running behind her. Looking over her shoulder she saw that it was Jack's brother that was chasing after her. Tears brimming her eyes Lucy ran faster. Bursting through the door she tried to see where Mira was. She was about to yell out when someone grabbed her arm and yanked her back. Lucy yelped in pain before seeing Jack's brother in front of her. Pushing her fear aside Lucy kicked at him.

The noise of her commotion got the attention of her guild mates. Lucy grabbed two of her keys when lightning struck the guy. Loke then burst through the door with a strained look on his face. When Lucy felt someone touch her shoulder she jumped. Mira tried to comfort her before she crumpled to the ground.

"They were waiting for me at my apartment, just like before," Lucy cried.

"You made it out this time though," Mira whispered hugging her.

Lucy nodded her head as she looked up and saw the back of Laxus and Gajeel.

"And you defended yourself," Levy added.

"How about Gajeel, Laxus, Levy and I go to your apartment and help make sure that no one is there," Mira said giving her a squeeze.

"That would be okay," Lucy whispered.

Lucy saw the guys that were in her apartment being tied up while Mira helped her stand up.

While on her way back to her apartment Lucy felt uncomfortable. She held her body tight while they made her way to her apartment. Once they arrived Gajeel and Laxus went around her apartment sniffing.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked.

"Trying to see if the guys we got at the guild were the only ones in here," Gajeel answered. "And it seems like we got all of them."

"Natsu is going to be pissed when he finds out," Laxus said cracking the window open.

"Why did you open the window?" Mira asked steering Lucy to the couch.

"To air the apartment out. It stinks of the men, and I know that the scent of them here will make Natsu crazy."

"Natsu," Lucy whispered rubbing her arms.

It was then that she took a good look at her apartment. Even though all her stuff was there it didn't feel like home. In fact it hadn't felt like home since the day she was kidnapped. The only time she could actually feel at peace in her apartment anymore was when Natsu was there with her. When she realized that she didn't feel safe in her apartment anymore Lucy started to cry. She felt pathetic that she didn't feel safe in her home anymore.

"Lucy, it's okay," Levy said hugging her tight. "No one is here."

"I know, I'm just tired," Lucy lied. "I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Do you want one of us to stay here?" Mira asked.

"No, I'll be fine."

"Okay, just let us know if we can do anything for you," Mira said.

Lucy nodded her head as she made her way to her bed. She curled her body up into a ball and tried to relax. The muscles in her shoulders were so tight that she was starting to get a headache. Even though it had been months since she had been back today set her back a lot. She couldn't believe that she was so scared just to see the brother of the guy who raped and tortured her everyday. Lucy felt so pathetic when she realized how scared she was. She couldn't even properly defend herself. Instead she ran like a scared little girl for help. Seeing the pink Fairy Tail symbol on her hand she felt like a disgrace. If she couldn't get over what happened to her fully, then how would she ever be able to do her job in protecting people.

Feeling empty inside she got up and waked to her bathroom. She then dug into her drawer and found a razor blade she got months back, but never used. Tears streamed down her face as she brought the razor to her wrist. Some blood trickled down her arm as she pulled the blade across the skin. A hand then grabbed her to stop her action any more.

"Lucy," Loke said looking into her eyes.

"Loke…I…this…I can't stay here anymore," Lucy cried. "I can't even feel safe here."

"Everything will be alright," Loke said hugging her. "Lets find a new place that you can feel safe in."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Lucy was curled up on a bed, her eyes red from crying. Virgo sat on the edge of the bed watching over her. When she looked up at her spirit a small smile came to her lips.

"Virgo, you can return to the spirit world and let the others know they don't need to come out anymore," Lucy said burying her nose in her pillow.

"Are you sure Princess?"

"Yes, Loke was smart to bring me to Natsu's house. Just with his scent I've calmed down."

"Alright, call us if you need us," Virgo said before returning to the spirit world.

Lucy turned over so that she could face the door. She then looked at her hand with the Fairy Tail symbol and tried to focus on what Loke told her. The symbol not only stood for her strength, but the fact she is able to deal with any situation thrown at her. Even though she sees herself as weak, the symbol means that she is strong. Lucy flipped her hand over and traced a finger over her new scar. After Loke had brought her to Natsu's place and talked to her she was ashamed of how she acted. Lucy promised herself that she would become stronger, not only in her magic but also in her hand to hand combat as well. She never wanted to be in a situation again that she felt powerless if she doesn't have her magic and spirits to fight. Now all she needed to do was find someone to teach her. There are a lot of people in the guild that could help her, but it was also a matter of who she could trust the most. The sound of the door bursting open brought her out of her thoughts.

"Natsu, why can't we just stay at the guild? I'm tired and hungry," Happy asked flying through the door.

"We have to find Lucy," Natsu said slamming the door close. "Mira said that she's been missing since the day we left. Apparently some guy tried to take her and she was really scared."

"But I want fish first," Happy whined "And Lucy is in your bed."

"She's what?" Natsu said looking in the direction Happy mentioned.

Lucy gave him a small smile before she flipped over. Her body started to shake due to not knowing how he would react to her almost suicide. She held her hand tightly to her chest as tears stung her eyes.

"Happy, go ahead and go back to the guild. Just tell Mira that we found her, but not where."

"Aye sir," Happy said before flying through the open window.

Lucy could hear his deep sigh before she felt the bed dip from his weight.

"Lucy, why are you crying?" Natsu said wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed the back of her neck and hummed at their mixed scent that was on her.

"I'm afraid."

Nastu stiffened a bit before he asked, "You're afraid of me."

"No and yes," Lucy said and felt his squeeze of encouragement to continue. "I'm afraid to see the anger in your eyes when you find out what I did. I mean this whole year has been a roller-coaster from me being kidnapped, rapped, tortured, being saved and trying to heal from that experience. Every time that I feel like I'm doing great something comes in a knocks me back down. Every time I look at my hand I feel like I've disgraced the guild because I couldn't protect myself. How can I call myself a Fairy Tail wizard if all I can do is hope that my friends would come to save me? What person in their right mind would want someone as filthy as me to be doing a job for them? I mean when that guy was in my apartment the day you left I couldn't think let alone move. If I didn't have Loke's key in my hand to begin with don't know what I would have done. I mean the only reason why I had his key ready is because I don't feel safe in my apartment anymore. It's just a nasty reminder of what was done to me. And if Loke wasn't there I don't know if I would have been able to run to the guild for help. Once again I couldn't do anything but hope that someone at the guild would rescue me and protect me like you do. So after Laxus and Gajeel made sure no one else was in the apartment I convinced Mira and Levy that I would be fine, and I decided that the guild would be better off if I wasn't even around. I was so disgusted and full of…self hate that I took a razor to my wrist. I thought it would be better if I just died. Loke stopped me before I could do much and brought me here. He was right to do that since this is the place I've felt the most relaxed and safe while I've been alone."

Lucy closed her eyes tight as she waited for Natsu's response. All she heard was a growl before she was flipped over. When she looked into Natsu's eyes all she saw was how much she hurt him.

"How could you think that?" Nastu whispered.

"I was in a bad place, and I still hate the fact that I have scars all over my body. Even though they've faded a little they are still a reminder of what happened."

Nastu growled again as he grabbed the bottom of her shirt and ripped it until it exposed her front. Gently he touched one of her scars before looking her in the eyes.

"When I first saw these they would remind me that I wasn't able to protect my mate. I wasn't able to make sure she was safe and out of harms way," Nastu said before he bent down to kiss the one that was above her hip. "And when I saw that video of how you got some of them I felt terrible in fact I hated myself."

"And now?" Lucy asked.

"Now I see them as something that proves how strong you are. For months you were held captive, but you figured out a way to survive until I got you. You never gave up hope that I would find you. You were broken at first, but like these scars you healed over time."

Lucy took a sharp intake of breath as she felt Natsu lick a different scars. Her body was tense, but her mind trusted Natsu. Tears of frustration glistened he eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Natsu said takinga deep breath before rolling to his side.

"It's not that," Lucy said laying her head on his chest. "I'm just frustrated that I really wanted that to continue...to actually enjoy and feel love through sex...but I guess my body isn't ready or something. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. We will have amazing sex when you're ready and I will mark you. In the meantime why don't you move in here? If you don't feel safe in your apartment anymore it doesn't make sense to stay here. And if you move in here you don't have to worry about rent so much," Natsu said kissing the top of her head.

Lucy couldn't describe the feeling she got when she heard Natsu say that. For the first time in a long time she finally felt like she was home.

"I'd love that," Lucy said pulling the blanket up around them. "Could you also teach me how to fight? I think I'd feel a lot safer when I'm not with you if I knew how to protect myself when I can't call my spirits."

"Of course Luce, and I'm sure that Loke would be happy to do that for you too," Natsu said pulling her tight.

"But I want you to do it," Lucy said wrapping an arm around his chest.

"I'll do anything for you Luce," Natsu said before taking a deep breath. "Let's just go to sleep. We'll get your stuff in the morning."

"Can we keep this a secret?" Lucy asked before closing her eyes.

"Sure," Nastu hummed before he closed his eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Lucy took a deep breath. Her ribs and back were sore from the beating Natsu delivered while training her. She laid down on her back as she took deep breaths. For weeks Natsu had been training Lucy in hand to hand combat and she was exhausted. Natsu chuckled at Lucy as she tried to regain her breath. His chuckle soon turned into a frown when he saw light bruises across her ribs and legs. Lucy caught him staring and gave him a small smile. She was out of the workout clothes he had bought her a couple months ago and was wearing a sports bra and gym shorts. It was one of her favorite outfits to wear before she was taken because she knew that Natsu couldn't keep his eyes off of her when she wore it. Now she saw that his eyes barely ever left her while she wore it now due to the fact that he has become super protective and possessive over her.

"Tired?"

"Yes, you keep throwing me to the ground. I swear my bruises have bruises," Lucy whined.

"Well you are getting better. You're lasting three times as long," Natsu said lying down next to her.

"Can't you just let me win once," Lucy whined rolling on her side so he could wrap his arms around her waist.

"You know I could never do that," he laughed pulling her closer to her body.

"Oh yeah, I bet I can beat you to the guild," she said squirming out of his hold.

"How do you think that will happen," Natsu said giving her a devilish grin.

"Loke, Taurus, Virgo hold him back!" Lucy yelled holding all three keys while she ran toward the guild.

"No fair!" she heard Natsu yell after her.

Lucy giggled while she ran through the forest to the guild. She stumbled on her way but caught her balance before she tumbled. Her heart pounded in joy as she made her way to the guild. For the first time since the day Natsu found her at his house she wore one of her older work out outfits that showed basically all of her scars. The words he had whispered to her that night slowly started to make her see her scars in a different light. Lucy still wasn't a hundred percent comfortable with the scars, but she was starting to accept them as something that showed how strong she was to survive all those months. The confidence that she got from that night helped her ignore the stares she got from the people on the streets. Just as she was about to open the guild doors strong arms picked her up and threw her over her shoulder.

"Not fair," Lucy whined as Natsu laughed carrying her through the guild doors. "I was so close to winning to."

"In your dreams Luce."

"How is your training going Lucy?" Mira asked as she put a club sandwich and two cheeseburgers on the bar for them.

"Natsu keeps beating me," Lucy pouted before she took a bite of her sandwich.

"It's not in my nature to lose," Natsu replied with his mouth full of food.

"Well it seems like you are feeling more confident," Mira said sliding a strawberry milkshake in front of Lucy.

"I feel like I've improved a lot, but I don't know," Lucy replied dunking a French fry into her milkshake.

"That and the fact that you are actually wearing clothes that are showing your scars." Mira smiled. "What changed?"

"Well, Natsu made me see them in a different light," Lucy mumbled.

"I'm glad to hear that," Mira said touching her arm before heading off to one of the other tables.

Lucy smiled after her friend before she took a deep breath. Even though Natsu bought her new clothes when he realized she didn't feel comfortable wearing her older ones she somehow couldn't give up this one workout outfit. It was probably because she wanted to drive Natsu crazy while she wore it, which it was doing. She heard a low growl emanate from Natsu and when she looked up she saw that it was because Gajeel was looking at her.

"Knock it off," Lucy growled slapping Natsu across the arm.

"Fine, I just don't like anyone looking at you while you're dressed like that," Natsu mumbled.

"Then next time give me a shirt to wear," she countered.

"That's even worse since it looks like your not wearing anything underneath it."

Lucy felt her cheeks heat up at that comment and turned her focus onto her sandwich. Ever since that day Natsu came back to find her in his bed something had changed in their relationship. Sure she always felt safe and comfortable around him but now when he gave her a certain look or said something she would feel her body heat up. Sometimes while they were kissing she felt like she wanted more, but was too scared to take it to the next level.

"Luce are you even listening?" Natsu asked waving his hand in front of her face.

"Uh sorry I wasn't," Lucy replied as her blush deepened.

"I was asking when you'd like to go on another mission."

"Well, we could go with the group later this week, and maybe once my training is done just the two of us can go on one." Lucy took a sip of her strawberry milkshake in thought "Yeah just the two of us, no Happy."

"What about me?" Happy asked plopping himself onto Lucy's head.

"You're keeping my secret of where I'm living now right?" Lucy said reaching up to scratch him behind the ear.

"Of course I am even though Mira keeps bribing me with fish," Happy said with a pout.

"And how much fish do I give you for keeping the secret?" Lucy asked.

"A lot," Happy answered drool already forming at his mouth.

"Come on Lucy, just tell us where you're living now," Cana said taking another sip of her drink "It's not fair that only Natsu gets to know where you live."

"No, I just want Natsu and Happy to know where I live for now," Lucy answered giving Cana an apologetic smile. "I promise when I'm ready I will tell you all where I'm living."

"You better, I miss taking a bath in your tub."

"More like you would break in to take a bath Cana," Lucy mumbled.

Lucy was about to take another bite of her sandwich when she felt someone touch her back and Natsu growl. She shot her leg out to kick Natsu before she turned to the person that approached her. Gray stood there a little shocked at Natsu's behavior, but eventually brushed it off.

"So I heard that you want to go on a mission later this week," he said removing his hand from her back.

"Yeah, I need money for rent," Lucy lied about the last part.

She loved living with Natsu since she never had to worry about rent anymore, but she always had to make sure that there was enough food for all of them.

"Sounds good, I'll let Erza know and we will let you know what mission we choose."

"Sounds like a plan Gray," Lucy smiled before Natsu took her sandwich out of her hands.

"Mira, can we get a to go box or something?" Natsu yelled "We need to get back to training."

"I'll be right there," Mira replied.

"Natsu what are you talking about?" Lucy whispered.

"I need to get you out of here or else I'm going to lose my mind," he whispered back. "I can't stand all the looks the guys are throwing your way. Unless you are ready for everyone to know that we're dating I suggest we get out of here."

"Alright," Lucy answered.

In no time Mira had packed up their lunch. Lucy was about to step down from her stool when Natsu picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Natsu put me down," Lucy yelled as he ran for the guild doors.

. . . .

"They're getting close to mating aren't they?" Wendy asked Gajeel after she saw her two friends leave.

"Yes they are," Gajeel replied "Which means until that happens Natsu is going to be very possessive of her. I mean you can smell that they have been living together since she came back, and I'm pretty sure that they started dating but are keeping it a secret until Lucy feels comfortable letting everyone in. So his dragon side has had to wait a long time to claim what is his, and now that her body is starting to react more…naturally to him it has got to be driving him crazy."

"Especially since they are living together," Wendy added in a hush tone. When Gajeel raised an eyebrow at her she giggled before she said, "Their scents are all over each other and the smell of the forest that surrounds Natsu's home has been coating Lucy for weeks even when they don't train."

"You're more sharp than I thought," Gajeel replied.

"I'm just respecting their wishes and keeping my findings to myself, but with you I can be a little more open since you pick up the same stuff I do," Wendy said turning to head back to her group. "Just don't make Levy wait too long Gajeel. Both you and I know that she is your mate."

Gajeel growled at her comment before he huffed in annoyance. Wendy gave him a sweet smile before she walked away from him.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Lucy looked around the guild once she got back from her mission with the group. She was a little sore, but thanks to all of Natsu's training she was able to stand her own like she wanted to. Natsu wouldn't stop complimenting how well they did until they reached their room. Ever since the incident where Lucy had to leave to share a bed with Natsu everyone decided that it would be best for them to just share a room for when they do missions. Now that she was back at the guild she was looking for a certain blue haired friend.

"Looking for someone?" Mira asked as Natsu made a huge order of food.

"Yeah, is Levy here?" Lucy replied still scanning the guild until her eyes caught her friend sitting next to a certain dragon slayer.

Lucy squeezed Natsu's arm letting him know that she will be alright. She could feel his eyes on her as she approached the table Levy and Gajeel were sitting at. When she placed her hands on Levy's shoulders she saw Gajeel narrow his eyes at her before he turned his head away.

"Sorry Gajeel, but I need to barrow her," Lucy said.

"You need to talk Lu-chan?" Levy asked patting the space next to her.

"Not here," Lucy said grabbing her hand. "Follow me."

Levy nodded her head as she got out off the bench and followed Lucy to the door. Before Lucy stepped out the door she looked over her should to look at Natsu. It was as if he could feel her staring at him because he paused in his eating to look up towards her and gave her a wink. Lucy responded with a smile and grabbed Levy's hand. Levy seemed confused when they didn't head to their favorite café to walk but instead started to walk to the forest.

"I'll explain everything once I get home," Lucy answered the unsaid question.

"You mean I finally get to see your new house or apartment or whatever it is?" Levy squealed.

"Yeah, but you have to keep it a secret, although I guess you could talk to Gajeel or Wendy about it since they probably already know where I live," Lucy sighed. "But make sure they know that they have to keep it a secret still. Even though I feel super safe there I like the fact that no one knows yet."

"All right Lu, but I demand a sleepover sometime," Levy giggled.

"Fine, but it would have to be when…my roommate is gone."

"Roommate?" Levy asked as they came to a clearing in the forest.

"Well, this is my new house," Lucy said with a hand gesture to Natsu's house.

"Man I lost the bet," Levy mumbled.

"What bet?" Lucy asked as they walked up the path to the house.

Levy was quiet until they walked into the house and said, "It looks really different."

Ever since Lucy moved into the house Natsu had continued some major remodeling to the place. He had added several more rooms to the place, one being a room for Happy himself, and he claimed the other rooms were for guests but Lucy knew that it was for their future children. He had created a master bedroom for him and Lucy with their own bathroom in it. Natsu made sure that there was a big tub for her to soak in; well for the both of them to soak in together once that time came. He had moved all of his keepsakes from missions into a designated room at the end of the house so that the family room area wasn't over crowded or messy. Natsu had bought brand new couches and a coffee table for them to lounge in as well as put a brand new desk in the corner for Lucy to work on her writing on. The kitchen area now had a table and chairs to sit at and there weren't any dishes in the sink to clean.

"Yeah, I guess before I was taken Natsu had started to remodel his house in getting ready for me to move in with him since we're mates. He told me that he really put himself into remodeling the house during the time that I was gone because it was the only way for him to hope that I would return to him," Lucy said with a couple tears in her eyes. "You should see the bathroom connected to our room, it's beautiful. He said that while he remodeled the bathrooms Laxus and Gajeel would come to help them since they understood what he was going through. I think Sting and Rogue stopped by a couple times to give him a hand too. Wendy would bring over snacks and stuff for them and they would all make sure that he was eating. That's about as much as I was able to get out of him before he shut me out. I can't blame him since there is still a lot I haven't told him about what happened while I was gone. In a way we both went through a trama while I was gone."

"What do you mean by mate?" Levy asked sitting down on the couch.

"Well from what I understand from what Gajeel told me a dragon slayer mates for life, so they kinda have…I guess in a way one sould mate. And when I say mate for life I mean one person they can have sex with basically. When they find their mate they have a unique scent only for them. And if they lose their mate even if it's before they are mated they spend the rest of their life alone. So Natsu was afraid that he had lost me before he had the chance to tell me that he loves me. I mean when I was gone wasn't Gajeel there for you and a little overprotective?"

"Yes, he was…am I his mate?"

"You are just like how Mira is Laxus's mate. You can't say anything though because I think Gajeel is waiting for the right time to say something to you and I have no idea what Laxus would do but it would be pretty messy if Gajeel and Natsu step in to protect us," Lucy said.

Lucy went over to the kitchen and grabbed the teakettle off the stove and filled it with water. She then turned the stove on before grabbing two mugs and putting tea bags in them. Lucy then walked over to the couch and joined her friend.

"Okay, and why did you want to talk to me?" Levy asked grabbing Lucy's hand.

"I'm scared Levy," Lucy said curling up into a ball. "I mean I know that Natsu loves me since we have been dating since the first mission I went on after I came back which is also a secret you have to keep."

"At least I won that bet."

"Really?"

"Sorry, but it's too hard not to join the guild bets," Levy said. "So why are you scared?"

"Well for the mating process to be complete we have to have sex and he marks me in some way. I mean I feel like I'm ready, and Natsu has been so patient with me. Like now whenever he touches me in a certain way I feel my body heat up and…submit to his touch. I think when we were in the guild the other week when I wore one of my old workout clothes the reason why Natsu suddenly took me out of the guild is because he didn't know how to respond to that since I was well…maybe getting wet." Lucy blushed just as the teakettle went off.

"Lu, it's totally natural for your body to respond that way to someone you love."

"I know, but what if we have sex and Natsu gets upset that I'm not a virgin anymore?" Lucy said her voice quivering. "I mean you know that I wanted Natsu to be my first."

"If what you say about this mate thing is true then he is totally in love with you. Nothing that's happened will change that. I mean look at his house Lucy, it's spotless and organized. He is waiting for you to be ready which must be hard. I mean think about it, his nose is a lot more powerful than ours, which means he was probably able to smell every guy that touched you. Touched what was his and he didn't toss you on the bed and have sex with you to cover up their scents. Instead he is here for you whether it's a shoulder to cry on or to help you get stronger by training you."

"You're right, but how will I know for sure that I'm ready to have him mark me?" Lucy asked sitting down on the couch.

"Only you will know, but it sounds like you are almost there," Levy said pulling Lucy to her chest when she saw that tears were falling from her eyes.

Lucy cried into her friend's chest as everything she had been stressing over came out. She was glad that she finally told Levy even though she wasn't ready for the whole guild to know yet. Levy wrapped her arms around her friend and held tight while Lucy cried.

When Lucy fell asleep from crying she shifted so that she could cover her friend with a blanket with her head in her lap. Levy then grabbed her cup of tea while she stroked Lucy's hair. She sat there thinking about everything Lucy had told her. She didn't flinch when the door opened and Natsu and Gajeel walked in. Levy saw Natsu's body stiffen when he smelled Lucy's tears. It was then that she noticed that the sun was setting outside. Natsu gently lifted Lucy into his arms and carried her into their bedroom. Levy got up from the couch and took both her empty mug and Lucy's untouched tea to the sink and cleaned them. By the time she had dried them and put them away Natsu was standing by the door talking to Gajeel.

"Natsu," Levy said touching his arm "take good care of her okay? I know that you guys are mates, and she understands that you love her a lot but she is still scared. She feels like she's ready to have you mark her but the only thing holding her back is her fear of you rejecting her because she isn't a virgin anymore."

"She is still one to me," Natsu said rubbing his face. "Just because she lost it to rape doesn't mean she isn't pure. At least to me it doesn't because I know she didn't want to lose it that way."

"She actually wanted you to take it," Levy said biting her lip "Just like how I want Gajeel to take mine."

All three of them blushed at Levy's statement and Natsu chuckled when Gajeel picked Levy up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Have fun mating!" Natsu yelled after them while Gajeel gave him the middle finger.

"Tell Lu-chan I say thank you for telling me everything," Levy yelled back.


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey sorry it took me so long to update this story. I've been dealing with sexual harassment in my work place and have been mentally drained by the end of the day since it's been reported. Hope you like the new chapter and don't be afraid to let me know what you think in the reviews._

Chapter 16

"Levy!" Lucy yelled running into the guild.

The blue haired friend looked up from her book as Lucy ran toward her. Lucy's face looked flushed as if she had just run to the guild from Natsu's house. When Lucy thought about why she was looking for Levy her face turned a darker shade of red. Confusion was written on Levy's face as she grabbed Levy's hand and dragged her out of the guild.

"Lucy what's going on?" Levy asked trying to keep up with the blonde.

"I think I'm ready, and I want to buy new…well you know?" Lucy said loud enough for only Levy to hear.

"Really?" Levy said practically jumping causing her shirt to slip a little and show her mate mark on the back of her shoulder.

"Yeah, I mean I just feel so ready and I'm not having flashbacks anymore." Lucy smiled.

"I'm so happy for you Lu!" Levy squealed wrapping her arms around her friend.

"Natsu is about to pick out a mission for just the two of us," Lucy replied. "So I was wondering if Happy could stay with the two of you?"

"Why doesn't he stay with Wendy like he did when you first got back?" Levy asked.

"Well, I don't want him to say anything in front of Wendy," Lucy replied "and I still feel bad that he had to keep crashing at her place for all those months. I mean it wasn't until I moved in with Natsu that I finally slept through the night without screaming. I mean at first he tried to stay the night with Natsu and me, but my screaming scared him and he would cry because of how hurt I was."

"Well, I can tell you from experience that when…well basically the sex that follows them biting you to instigate the mate mark is amazing."

"I just can't believe that it's taken me this long to be ready. I mean we've been dating for like a year and three months now," Lucy sighed. "I've really made him wait to mark me."

"You've been dating that long?" Levy squealed.

"Yeah, we started about three months after I got back," Lucy replied. "So I really want to make this night special for him."

"Well, lets get shopping then," Levy said grabbing her hand and dragging her to one of the lingerie shops in town.

When Lucy stepped through the doors she could feel her face start to heat up. It was if reality had sunk in that she wanted to have sex with Natsu. Just the thought of it had her body heating up with excitement. Levy stayed by Lucy's side as she followed her to the bras that seemed to have lace adorning them. Lucy could feel Levy's smile as she grabbed pink and red bras and matching panties to go with them.

"Ready to try them on?" Levy asked when Lucy seemed to have an armful.

"Yeah, I think I am," Lucy smiled excited to try them on.

While she was trying them on Lucy came across her favorite one. It was a deep red bra with dark pink and white lace that the pattern made it look like there was a butterfly in the middle. The panties she had on with it gave her so much confidence that she didn't even worry about the fact that her scars showed. Lucy tightly gripped the curtain before she poked her head out.

"Levy, you should come see this one," Lucy whispered.

She couldn't help but look at how the lace on the top of her panties hugged her hips while she waited for Levy to come.

"Wow Lu, you look amazing," Levy said peaking her head through the curtain. "Natsu's jaw will drop for sure."

"Thanks Levy, I think I've found the ones that I want."

Lucy couldn't help but smile as she went up to the register. It had been a long time that Lucy felt comfortable enough in her own skin to buy herself sexy underwear. This time was different though since she wanted Natsu to see it on her and not see it when he peaked through her underwear drawer. She was glad that she brought Levy with her since her words encouraged her even more. After she got all of her stuff in the bags her and Levy stepped out of the shop. Unfortunately they didn't get far until someone catcalled them.

"I told you that I saw her go into the shop," some guy said before he went up to Lucy and squeezed her butt.

Lucy gritted her teeth as she turned around. The man that touched her had curly black hair and a chipped tooth. His friend had freckles that adorned his cheeks and messy blonde hair. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Levy give her a worried look. It was then she smelled the alcohol on them.

"Her ass feels just as nice as it looks?"

"You better not touch me again," Lucy growled.

"Aw, don't say that," the blonde said reaching out to grab Lucy's chin but missed. "Everyone here knows how much you love doing it with more than once guy. I mean didn't you just buy more sexy underwear to get is excited? I bet your friend there would even want to join us."

"Do you really want to know what I think?" Lucy said setting her bags down and giving them a fake smile.

Lucy then grabbed the guys face before bringing her knee up to his stomach. The guy that originally touched her reaches his arm out to stop her, but cried out in pain when she pinned it against his back. She thought that she was doing a good job fighting both of the guys until she heard Levy cry out. Apparently there was a third person in their group that had snuck up on them. This guy had short green hair and seemed like he was the leader in the group.

"You guys do realize who you are messing with right?" Lucy asked as she grabbed two of her keys.

"Um I believe you're the hot blonde from the sex video," the guy who had Levy laughed.

"Well, we are actually members of Fairy Tail," Levy yelled trying to get out of the guys grip. She then locked eyes with Lucy and said, "Gajeel's close."

Before Lucy could respond a big figure rushed past her and smashed their fist into the guys face while also taking Levy into his arms. When Lucy turned around she saw that the blonde was hit over the head with a sword and the guy that touched her was surrounded in flames. She then found herself in Nastu's arm as he growled at the guy he knocked out.

"I thought I was meeting you back at the guild later," Lucy pouted as she saw Erza tie the guys up.

"We were until Gajeel felt that Levy was in truble through their mate bond," Nast growled.

"Natsu look at me," Lucy said grabbing his face and forcing him to look into her eyes. "I'm here, I'm fine, I'm safe."

With those words she could feel him relax a little before she bent down to pick up her bags.

"Lucy what happened?" Erza asked.

"I guess these guys recognized me from the sex tape that was released and tried to talk me into having some fun with them," Lucy said shuddering "So instead I started to kick their asses."

"I'm taking you home," Natsu growled picking her up not giving her a choice.

"Did you choose a mission yet," Lucy squealed not able to give her friends a proper goodbye.

"Yes, we can leave tonight," Nast said as he started to run to his house.

Lucy squeaked as he picked up the pace, but didn't say anything as he ran. She knew that it killed him to hear about the sex video again, and that they wanted to play around with her. When they got to the house Nastu didn't even set her down. He carried her straight to the bedroom and only paused long enough to have her drop her bags. Natsu then tossed her on the bed and proceeded to crawl over to her.

"Natsu what are you doing?" Lucy asked and she saw that his pupils were now slit like.

Natsu didn't say anything as he crashed his lips into her. Instantly Lucy's body started to heat up while the kiss intensified. She felt Natsu grip her butt and unlike before she enjoyed the intimate touch. In the back of her mind she wondered if she should wait for the mission or just let him mark her right now. All too soon Natsu pulled away.

"Sorry," Natsu said getting up "but you reak of the drunken fools.

Tears entered Lucy's eyes at his comment. When Natsu saw that she was on the verge of crying he grabbed her wrist yanking her into his arms.

"I didn't mean it that I don't want you because you smell like them," Natsu said taking a bigwhiff of her hair. "I meant sorry that I couldn't control myself. I mean it's been really hard letting guys around you since you aren't mated and it hurts when people talk about the sex tape or you bring a sex slave because I should be the only one to see you like that but because I couldn't protect you others have enjoyed what is mine."

"I am yours so you better not continue to beat yourself up," Lucy said trying to wiggle out of his hold to look up at him. "Because of you and the training you gave me I actually stood up for myself in that situation instead of getting scared like I would have when I first moved in here."

"It was nice to see you kick their ass for a bit," Natsu smiled.

"So, I'm going to go shower and I have a surprise for you when we go on our mission," Lucy said giving him a kiss on the lips.

"For once I cant wait to get on a train," Natsu mumbled as he watched Lucy head toward their bathroom.

She heard him groan when he saw her toss her clothes out the bathroom door. For the past couple of weeks Lucy would tease him a little by showing him more skin than she used to or even change clothes as long as she had her undergarments on. What turned her on the most was his reaction when she walked around the house in just her towel after one of her showers. As the hot water ran over her body Lucy hoped that Natsu got the settle hints that she was getting ready for him to form the mate bond with her. She then grabbed her razor and started to shave her body. A smile formed on her face as she thought about her plans. Lucy couldn't wait to feel his hands on her body.


	17. Chapter 17

_Sorry for the long wait for the update, I had a hard time writing this chapter. I also wanted to thank MarSofTheGalaxies and OtakuPrincess28_ _for your concern about the sexual harassment at work. It was really hard for me to report it but I'm glad I did it since it brought the attention to the company and started a sexual harassment training for the managers._

Chapter 17

"Natsu hurry up!" Lucy yelled as they ran back to their hotel through the rain.

They had just finished their mission of catching bandits in the nearby forest. All Lucy could think of was getting back to their hotel and take a shower. There were a few cuts on her arms and legs from the fight, but that was nothing compared to the mud that covered her body. Her foot entered a small puddle, which made the stone underneath it slippery. Right before she would have hit the ground strong warm arms encircled her waist.

"You are such a klutz," Natsu whispered in her ear.

"Shut up," Lucy said slapping him lightly on the chest.

"So will you tell me what your surprise is yet?" Natsu asked picking up his pace to the hotel.

"You'll know it when it happens," Lucy giggled at Natsu's growl.

When they finally made it to the hotel the rain started to come down harder. Natsu ran up the stairs to the floor that they were staying on and paused with just the right amount of time for Lucy to open the door before he got inside and slammed the door shut. Lucy could tell that Natsu was getting anxious for his surprise, but she decided that maybe she could drag it out a little longer.

"I'm going to take a shower first," Lucy said as Natsu set her down.

"Fine," Natsu said capturing her lips, "We will also go see the client in the morning to get our payment."

"Good, because that rain made me cold," Lucy said as she took her top off.

She smiled as she saw his eyes narrow a tiny bit seeing her in her lacey bra. A low growl started to rumble from his chest as she took her pants off. Lucy looked behind her before she headed to the bathroom and caught Natsu's eyes. Her teeth then bit her lip as she took her bra off and dropped it on the floor.

"Luce," Natsu groaned as she entered the bathroom.

"Yes Natsu?" she asked batting her eyelashes.

"You're testing my control."

"Maybe I'm wanting to test it," Lucy said before closing the door.

She then turned the water on and jumped into the warm water rinsing away the mud and grim from the forest. Lucy went to go grab the soap but dropped it. Before she could find it her foot landed on it and she slipped. A scream escaped her lips as she landed on the ground.

"Luce are you okay?" Natsu asked running into the bathroom.

"I think," Lucy groaned starting to sit up and was surprised when she didn't feel the water on her anymore.

When she opened her eyes she saw that Natsu was in front of her checking her body over for injury. He then picked her up and kissed her while he pressed her body against the wall. Lucy's body tensed up for a second, which caused Natsu to pull back.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to—" Natsu started to say but was cut off my Lucy's lips covering his.

"Don't say you're sorry," she said against his lips. "I want this…I'm ready for this…make me yours…I want to bear your mark."

A growl erupted from his throat as he kissed her. Lucy grabbed his scarf and unwrapped it from around his neck before she went to take off his one sleeved jacket.

"Wait, I want to get clean first," Lucy moaned as she felt him kiss her collarbone.

"Fine," Natsu said stepping back.

"With you so take your pants off," Lucy growled tugging on them.

"Thought you'd never ask," Natsu said kissing her lips.

While Natsu gathered his wet clothes and toss them out of the shower Lucy grabbed the bar of soap that she dropped. Natsu then took the bar of soap from her hand before he started to wash her body. A frown covered his face when his hands went over the cut on her arms causing her to his in slight pain. It wasn't until his thumbs brushed over her nipples that he smirked since he got a moan out of her. Lucy then got her hands the bar of soap and started to wash his body. Both of them couldn't help but let their hands roam as they helped wash each other. Laughter started to erupt from her as Natsu started to wash her hair.

"I love you," Lucy said before kissing him.

"Are you clean enough?" Natsu said picking her up and turning so that the water hit her head.

Lucy wrapped her legs around his waist as she bent her head back. She trusted him to not drop her as she used her hands to make sure that all the shampoo was out of her hair.

"I guess I can skip the conditioner today," Lucy said once she was sure the shampoo was gone. "Is someone getting impatient?"

"You know damn well I've been very patient," Natsu said turning the water off.

Before Lucy could say anything she felt Natsu's flames engulf both their bodies as he walked out of the shower. At first she was shocked but then understood that he did it to dry both of them. She then squeaked when he suddenly tossed her on the bed. A shiver of pleasure coursed through her body as she felt Natsu kiss his way up her body. When he reached her ribs right under her left breast he kissed it before he bit it. First she felt pain but then she felt immense pleasure. Towards the end of it she felt some of Natsu's magic enter her.

"What was that?" Lucy gasped.

"I just marked you so that everyone will know you're mine," Natsu said licking the mark. "At least when you're ready."

Lucy was about to say something but she felt Natsu enter a finger into her while his tongue licked her nipple. A moan erupted from her as she arched her back. Natsu then moved kisses down her body until he hovered over her core. She moaned louder as she felt him suck her clit.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out digging her fingers into his hair trying to pull him closer.

Soon she felt something build up inside of her that she had never felt before. Without warning that feeling exploded and she cried out in pleasure. Her breathing was hard and ragged as she tried to calm down from her high.

"Why Lucy, I had no idea that you liked it that much to cum on my face," Natsu smirked before he captured her lips.

Lucy couldn't help but smile into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he deepened the kiss. She loved the fact that she could taste herself from him through the kiss.

"I never knew that it could feel so good," Lucy said a tear escaping from her eyes. "Make me feel good Natsu."

Natsu gently kissed her forehead as he aligned himself at her entrance. When she felt the tip of him Lucy held onto him as tight as she could.

"Are you sure you want to go all the way, because I'm fine with just you getting pleasured today."

"You marked me as your own. I want you, and to finish the mating mark we do need to have sex."

Natsu didn't waist any time as he pushed himself inside of her. Lucy moaned in pleasure as he waited for her to get used to his size. She brought his face down to her and kissed him. He then started with a slow pace and slowly built it up. Natsu brought one of his hands to her breast and started to play with it. For the first time pleasure coursed through her body while she had sex. She arched her back in pleasure as Natsu pinched her nipple. Her nails dug into his back as she started to feel the pressure build inside her again. Without warning Natsu pulled out and flipped Lucy over. He pulled on her hips to make her stand on her knees. Lucy dug her fingers into the sheets as Natsu plunged back into her.

"Faster Natsu!" Lucy yelled right before she felt him move his hand to rub her clit.

Lucy felt the pressure inside her build up within her even more. She bit her lip as she focused on the pleasure he was giving her.

"Natsu I…I think I'm going to cum again," Lucy moaned.

"I'm almost there too," Natsu grunted.

With one hard thrust of his hips Lucy was sent over the edge. Natsu shot his load inside her as he felt her walls clamp down on him. Her body shook from the pleasure as they both collapsed onto the bed. Lucy then turned around to face Natsu and cupped his face.

"I love you Lucy," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too Natsu," she cried burring her face in his chest.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because it felt…so good. When they…had me I…never thought I'd be…able to have…to do this with you. They made me…think that…no one would ever want…me like this because of…what they did. I was afraid that you wouldn't want me…because they took my virginity."

"Hey, don't think like that." Natsu pulled her into his arms and pulled her close. "Not for one second have I not considered you as being tainted. In fact I still considered you as a virgin since you didn't willing give it up. And don't think for once second that I don't want you because I do. In fact you better be ready for more because it's just going to get better from here on out."

"Okay, and you better keep your promise," Lucy said kissing his neck.

"Good night Luce," Natsu chuckled pulling her closer.

"Night," Lucy yawned closing her eyes.

When Lucy woke up she had a smile on her face. The feel of Natsu's arm on her bare stomach sent excitement through her body. She tried to get up but Natsu's arm tightened around her.

"Natsu let me go I need to use the bathroom," Lucy said trying to squirm free.

"Just one more minute," Natsu whispered in her ear.

"How about you let me go and we can take a shower together." Lucy rubbed her foot up and down his leg causing a rumbling noise to come from Natsu.

"That sounds good to me," he replied letting her. "And Luce?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been wanting to do that for a long time."

"Thanks for waiting for me to be ready," Lucy said kissing him. "Now help me create more good memories of sex."

"Okay but first," Natsu said pulling her close. "I have something I want to ask you."

"Ask away."

"Will you marry me?"

Tears sprang to her eyes before her lips crushed his. "Yes, I will marry you. I will marry you today."

"You don't want a big wedding?" Natsu asked.

"All I need is you."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Natsu said jumping up.

"How about we get clean, pick up our payment and then go to a court house," Lucy said climbing on top of Natsu.

"I love how the mark turned out," Natsu said before capturing her lips.

Lucy pushed Natsu away before she ran the bathroom. Laughter came from when she heard Natsu whine. When she stopped in front of the mirror she gasped. Where Natsu had bit her a red dragon was that went down her ribs and a key was hanging off its tail. She couldn't help but trace the mark, and when Natsu joined her she looked up to meet his eyes in the mirror. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat when she saw lust enter his eyes. Suddenly she turned around and kissed him.

"Shower now," Lucy growled against his lips as she felt desire fill her body.

"Thought you'd never ask," Natsu replied picking her up.


	18. Chapter 18

_So sorry that it has taken me so long to update. Let's just say my life has been crazy the past couple of months, but I plan to get back to updating on a regular basis. Hope you enjoy this chapter._

Chapter 18

"Natsu this ring is beautiful," Lucy said curling up into him on the couch.

They had just gotten back from their mission, and Lucy still couldn't help but admire the ring Natsu demanded that they get. Even though they both would only wear it at home Lucy was happy that Natsu wanted to get her a ring. Natsu found a beautiful ring that had a ruby surrounded with a smaller diamond on either side. She still couldn't believe that they married in secret, and it brought her so much joy at the thought that she was finally his in every way.

"Hey Lucy," Levy said knocking on the door before opening it, "How was your mission?"

"Great and I married Natsu!" Lucy said jumping up off the couch and running over to her friend to show off the ring.

"What?" Levy screeched jumping up and down.

"You heard it. I married Natsu."

"Oh my god! I'm so happy for you!" Levy squealed.

Levy wrapped her arms around Lucy and jumped up and down with her. Once Lucy was calmed down she couldn't help the tears that sprung up into her eyes. There was a look of panic in Levy's eyes until she saw the smile that spread across Lucy's face.

"I never thought that I'd be able to be this happy after everything," Lucy whispered "Natsu taught me how incredible sex can be and it was so good. I started to believe the guys who took me that no one would want me because I was filthy, but he proved that wrong. Is it weird of me to be so happy that he made me his mate."

"No it isn't," Levy said squeezing her friend.

When Lucy looked over at Natsu she saw that his cheeks had a light dusting of pink on them. Their eyes met each other and Natsu gave her a hand movement telling her to go out with Levy. Lucy ran over to him and gave him a kiss.

"I won't be out long," Lucy said against his lips.

"I'll get dinner started," Natsu replied kissing her.

"Keep my ring safe?" Lucy asked handing him her ring.

"Always."

When Lucy turned back to Levy she saw that she had a goofy grin on her face. Grabbing her friend's hand Lucy shook her head. Before walking out the door she looked over her shoulder and blew a kiss to her husband. For a split second she saw something change in Natsu's eyes but decided to put it in the back of her mind or else she would never have her girl time with Levy.

"So, how was the mating process?" Levy asked nudging her friend.

"It was amazing, although things started in the shower so I still have my sexy lingerie for tonight," Lucy blushed grabbing a hold of Levy's arm. "He really made sure I was ready and okay with everything he did. I don't understand how I am lucky enough to have found someone like him."

"I ask the same thing when it come to Gajeel. Speaking of our mates what does you mate mark look like."

Lucy stopped walking and lifted her shirt up right underneath her breasts. There was a red dragon that was curled around a key right under her left breast. Every time Natsu would touch it a jolt of electricity would hum through her body. Just thinking about the way he touched her she couldn't help but want to turn around and head back to her house. Levy must have seen the look in her eyes and started to laugh. A deep blush covered Lucy's face as she dropped her shirt.

"I know that feeling of finally being mated. Why do you think Gajeel and I took off for two weeks? One night isn't enough to satisfy the yearning to pleasure one another. At least we weren't gone for a month like Laxus and Mira."

"Well maybe he needed to keep him to himself longer since she tries to get into everyone's business when it comes to their love life."

"Speaking of that how long are you and Natsu going to keep this quiet? You know that Mira will be upset that you have kept this a secret for so long."

Lucy sighed before saying, "I know she will be mad, but I just needed this to be between us while I tried to get control of my life back."

"And now?"

"I like how no one is in my business besides trying to figure out where I live."

"I understand," Levy sighed "she keeps asking me when Gajeel and I are going to have a baby."

"The master wanting small kids around isn't helping," Lucy said as she brushed her fingers across her mate mark.

"How do you feel?" Levy asked catching the motion out of the corner of her eye.

"Like I want to run back to Natsu and explore more of his body," Lucy blushed.

"You can always go back to him."

"And let him know that his look stirred me up? I think not," Lucy huffed as she felt more desire run through her.

"Just to let you know you can feel each other's desires."

Lucy bit her lip as she continued her way to the guild. She knew that his lust for her was not satisfied especially since he waited so long for her to be ready. The thought of Mira finding out to just bug her about babies made her happy. Just the idea of how happy he'd be at the news tugged a part of her to go home. When they had reached the guild Lucy stopped and groaned. Levy just laughed at her friend as she turned around to look back at the way they came.

"How is it possible to function after this," she whined to Levy as she felt ghost hands of where Natsu had touched her the other night.

"Go home," Levy replied squeezing her shoulder.

"But all I can think about is having so much sex until I'm pregnant. I mean I already made him wait this long; I don't want to make him wait even longer to be a father. He is so good with kids and after we mated his eyes lit up even more when he saw a baby on the train."

"Then do just that," Levy said squeezing her hands. "You both are ready to be parents, and I can't wait for our kids to start playing with each other."

"Wait are you pregnant?" Lucy asked squeezing Levy's hand back.

"Yep, and I've been dying to tell you."

"Oh my god, this is making me feel even guiltier for going back to Natsu."

"Think of it as you making a friend for my kid."

Her lust deepened at the thought of staying in bed with Natsu for the rest of the day. When the idea of staying in bed for even longer came to mind her cheeks became the shade of her husband's hair.

"I'll tell Happy that he is staying with us until the two of you show up at the guild."

"You're the best!" Lucy yelled hugging her friend before running back to her mate.

When she ran through the door Natsu popped his head out of their bedroom. She narrowed her eyes when she saw his smirk. Her response to him was to take off her top. The lust in his eyes darkened when she stroked the mark he left under her breast.

"It's a good thing I just finished filling the bath," he grinned as he sauntered over to her.

"How did you know I'd be back?" Lucy said before shimming out of the skirt she was wearing.

"Because I could feel your desire," Natsu drawled "and now that you're hear I can smell it too."

Her face turned red at his words. The feelings inside her started to stir while she held eye contact with him. Even though she so brazenly took her top and skirt off she couldn't help but use her arms to cover herself. She heard Natsu growl before he grabbed her wrists. He moved her arms before claiming her lips with his. Lucy moaned into his mouth as she felt him unclasp her bra. Her hands went into his hair as she tried to pull him closer.

"Bath now," Lucy said as she finally pulled away from him.

"As you wish," Natsu chuckled lifting her up.

"I could definitely get used to this," Lucy laughed as he carried her to the tub.

"I will never get tired of this," he replied kissing her once more.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Lucy sighed as she sat down at the bar in the guild. It was day three of the two week mission all the dragon slayers had to go on. Happy and Carla were the only ones besides the dragon slayers allowed to go. She couldn't help but remember how resistant both Gajeel and Natsu were at the idea of leaving for that long. When she told him she would be okay he growled at her before encasing her in his arms. At the time Lucy was annoyed by his protectiveness, but now she missed it. Subconsciously she touched her mate mark and wished she felt the slight hum in her body from when Natsu touched it. This morning she swore she saw gold mixed in with the mark, but as soon as she blinked the gold was gone.

"Lucy…earth to Lucy," Mira said waving her hand in front of her friend's face.

"Oh sorry Mira," Lucy replied with a blush "did you ask me something?"

"You seemed a little flushed, so I was wondering if you felt okay."

"Actually, my stomach has been off this morning," Lucy sighed.

"Do you want me to make you something?" Mira asked.

Lucy's stomach turned at the idea of eating and by the way Mira reacted she knew it showed on her face. Mira turned around and when she faced Lucy there was a steaming cup in her hands.

"Drink this stomach tea it should help."

"Thanks Mira," Lucy said taking a sip of the tea.

"You're welcome," Mira said with a knowing smile.

Lucy caught sight of that smile and her breath caught in her throat. It was the smile that told her she knew a secret about her. With narrowed eyes she watched Mira move about behind the counter. She was so focused on watching Mira that she didn't realize Levy was sitting next to her until she poked her cheek.

"Lu-chan are you okay?" Levy asked before taking a look at the cup in Lucy's hand.

"She gave me a knowing smile before she handed me the cup of tea," Lucy replied.

When she looked over at Levy she saw that her mate mark was showing. The original purple mark now had blue mixed in with it. She couldn't help but look at the mark and then glance back at Mira. It was then that she realized that Mira knew something about her being mated. After taking a sip of her tea Lucy took a deep breath.

"Mira, is there something you would like to ask me?" Lucy asked.

"Do you think she knows?" Levy whispered in her ear.

"I think she does, and since when do you have blue in your mate mark?"

"Oh well, it got the second color when I got pregnant." Levy blushed as she rubbed her big stomach.

"To answer your question Lucy," Mira smiled giving Levy a big stack of pancakes. "Laxus might have let it slip that Wendy was the only one who wasn't mated before he left."

Color entered Lucy's tea before she drank more of her tea. "How mad are you that I kept it a secret?"

"Well, I was upset at first but Laxus reminded me of everything you had been through and that you probably wanted something in your life to be private again. So how long have you guys been together?"

"Well, we were dating for nine months and have been married for three," Lucy replied "So I think it's obvious that I moved into his house when I left my apartment."

"Okay so how long after you were came back did you start dating?" Mira asked.

"Three."

"So when do you think you will tell everyone?" Mira asked.

"Well, I could wear my wedding ring and see how long it takes people to notice."

"I like that idea," Levy squeaked.

"I just wish my mate was here," Lucy grumbled.

"Can I see your mate mark?" Mira asked.

"Sure," Lucy said raising her shirt up.

"Oh my god Lu-chan, is that gold mixed in with the mark?"

"There is gold mixed in," Mira said clapping "I knew it. After Laxus mentioned it he said that Natsu was acting just like Gajeel was when Levy was first pregnant. That's why I gave you the morning sickness tea."

"What?" Lucy said jumping up. "But I…don't I need to take a test?" Lucy stumbled over her words.

"Well, when was your last period?" Mira asked.

"Ah…I don't know…maybe like…eight weeks ago," Lucy whispered before standing up.

Before either Mira or Levy could say anything Lucy ran out of the guild. She ran straight to the pharmacy and bought six of the pregnancy tests. Her heart was racing as she ran back to her house. Lucy ran straight to her bathroom and waited for all six tests to show their results. As she waited she kept wishing that Natsu was there with her. Part of her was excited for the results to be positive, but the other part of her was scared. What if they were disappointed in what happened to her? What if they didn't like her? What if she turned cold to them like her father did to her? What if Natsu is upset when he finds out? The fear of what if's started to overtake her and she crawled into her bed after seeing the two blue positive lines on all the tests. Lucy was all wrapped up in her fears that she didn't hear her front door open and close. When she felt someone cup her face she looked up and saw the two concerned faces of Levy and Mira.

"Oh Lucy," Mira said crawling onto the bed to hold her "are you okay?"

"I'm scared," Lucy whispered as she let her tears fall from her eyes. "What if Natsu doesn't actually want a child with someone as disgusting as me? I mean what if they find out what happened to me and don't like me or are disappointed to have me as their mother?"

"That would never happen Lu-chan," Levy said curling up next to her. "Natsu is going to be ecstatic when he finds out you're carrying his child."

"And you are so kind and loving I know you will make a terrific mother," Mira said.

"And how could any child of your's and Natsu's hate or be disappointed in you?" Levy asked as she wiped a tear. "Even if they found out they would probably be sad that something like that happened to you. All you have to do is deal with Natsu being even more protective of you until the child is born."

"So how do you plan to tell Natsu?" Mira asked.

"I feel like you have an idea," Lucy giggled.

"I do, but can I please see your ring first?"

Lucy moved out of Mira's arms to grab her ring that was on the bedside table. A squeal escaped Mira as she looked at the ring. She couldn't help but grab Lucy's hand and hold it up to the light.

"So it looks like we are going to be pregnancy buddies," Levy said squeezing Lucy's shoulder.

"Well you're five months along so I think you have a head start," Lucy chuckled.

"I'll give you some of the tea I gave you this morning so you can have some here," Mira said hugging Lucy.

"That tea is magic," Levy sighed.

"I think the two of you are magic," Lucy said giving both of them a hug.

…

"Mira, when are they coming back," Lucy whined as she took a sip of the tea.

"Any day now," Mira laughed as she set down a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of the blonde.

"I still can't believe people haven't noticed that I'm wearing a ring," Lucy said before shoving a huge piece of pancake into my mouth. "I'm actually excited for everyone to find out about us."

"I'm glad to hear that Lucy, just realize you are going to have to answer a lot of questions."

"I know, I just want my mate back," she whined.

"Guess who's back," someone yelled as the doors to the guild opened.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled getting up and running towards the door.

A big smile lite his face as he saw Lucy run towards him and jumped into his arms. She felt him wrap his arms around her when he caught her. The chuckle she heard come from him brought a smile to her face. Lucy cupped his face before brining her lips to his. Through the kiss she could feel his body tense at first before he responded happily to her kiss. For the few people that were in the guild that morning gasped before they clapped and cheered.

"About time you two got together," Cana yelled from her seat at the bar.

"Actually Cana, we've been together for a long time," Lucy said raising her left hand.

"Damn it, who won the bet then?" Cana yelled.

"You won the bet of when they would first get together," Mira chirped as she made her way to Laxus.

Lucy climbed down from Natsu and when she saw the look in his eyes her plan to tell him about the pregnancy went out the window. She bit her lip as she grabbed the hem of her shirt.

After lifting her shirt up to show him her mate mark she asked, "Do you know what the gold in the mark means Natsu?"

"No way," he said touching the mark. "Are you…are we having a baby?"

"Yep," Lucy squealed.

"That's great Luce!" he yelled picking her up.

"So you're happy about this?" Lucy asked as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Couldn't be happier."

Natsu kissed her once more before throwing her over his shoulder. Lucy kept hitting his back while he ran back to their house. He plopped her down on their bed as soon as he got inside the house. When he started to undress Lucy shook her head before standing up and pushing him into the bathroom.

"You need a shower first," Lucy hummed against his lips "And you owe me breakfast and tea."

"Then join me," Natsu said before taking her shirt off. "I've missed having you in my arms the past three weeks."

"And I've missed having you next to me in bed."

When she felt the warm water hit her back she tried to get the rest of her clothes off as soon as possible. After both of them had stripped of their clothes Natsu roamed her hands over her body and stopped when he felt a bump on her stomach. Lucy couldn't help but smile as she watched his eyes light up at feeling the baby bump. He kissed her eagerly before lifting her up and pressing her against the wall.

"I can't wait to see our little one," Natsu said against her lips.

"Me too, but right now all I want is you," Lucy replied against his lips.


	20. Chapter 20

_So sorry that it has taken me so long to update. Long story short I quite my job because they were doing nothing for a bullying situation not just for me but also a friend of mine from work. Started school again to get my esthetician license which I am almost done with. Hope you like this chapter and don't forget to let me know what you think._

Chapter 20

"Natsu you big idiot!" Lucy yelled before storming out of the house.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she ran to the guild. She was five months pregnant and antsy to get out of the city to go on a simple mission. Whenever she tried to ask Natsu about it he would shut her down saying that it was too risky. Not doing anything since Natsu found out about her pregnancy was driving her crazy. Even though it took a lot out of her to use her magic she was tired of being cooped up her house. When she made it through the guild doors Lucy didn't stop until she was in Mira's arms.

"Shhhh, it's okay I'm here for you," Mira said rubbing her back. "What did he do now?"

"He won't let me go on a small mission," Lucy cried. "All he does is keep me locked up in the house and it's driving me crazy."

"You know he is doing this for your own good right?"

"But all I want to do is something small."

"Why don't you sit down and I'll make you something to eat okay?"

"Fine," Lucy sighed wiping the tears off her face.

When she went to go sit down she saw that there was a request on the board for a celestial mage. It was a simple request to just help them with some translations that had to do with her type of magic. Before anyone could notice she snatched the request off the board and tucked it into her jacket. She could feel that Natsu was drawing close to the guild.

"Mira, I'm going to take it to go," Lucy said as she watched Mira pack up her lunch for her. "Don't tell Natsu I was here!" Lucy yelled before heading out the back.

With her lunch packed for her Lucy made her way to the train station. She figured that the mission would only take a day. As she got onto her train she felt a presence behind her. Lucy paid no mind to him since she knew he was there to watch over her than to stop what she was doing.

"Natsu isn't going to be happy when he finds out that you took a job," Loki said grabbing them a booth "Especially when you cant really use your powers."

"Well, being cooped up in the house for five months is driving me crazy," Lucy pouted sitting down on a chair.

"I can tell."

"So why are you here?"

"I want to make sure you're safe," Loki smiled.

"Well, you can go now unless you made a promise to Natsu to follow me if I did something reckless in his eyes," Lucy growled.

"I do not understand how Natsu can deal with your mood swings all the time."

"Well it's his fault that I'm all emotional and everything. It's not like I can't make a definite decision sometimes, but at least I can feel like myself by taking this mission."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you cry…look Mira made your current favorite, strawberry cheesecake."

"Shut up," Lucy said grabbing the cheesecake from him and starting to dig in.

When the train started to leave Lucy could feel through the mate mark that Natsu was pissed. Taking a deep breath she hoped that he was just mad at the fact that she was hiding from him and not that they had found out that she had taken a job. After she had finished the lunch Mira had made Lucy started to drift off. Loki slid next to her and wrapped her up in his arms do give you a more comfort while she slept.

Her body was gently shaken awaken. Batting her eyes she opened them to hear that the town the job was in being called out. Quickly she rose up from her seat and headed to the exit. One step off the train and she felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. Something didn't feel right to her. When she tried to step back onto the train someone grabbed her arm.

"I told you that if we put that job request up that the bitch would come," someone growled behind her.

"Let me go!"

"I don't think so," someone said covering her mouth with a cloth.

….

"Where the hell is my wife!" Natsu yelled scorching everything around her.

"I think she might have taken a request off the board Natsu," Mira said walking up to him. "I meant to take it down earlier, but she must have seen the one requesting a celestial mage."

"Why hell did you let her do that!" he roared.

Laxus then punched Natsu in the face, which sent him flying into the wall.

"Don't yell at my wife!"

"Well she shouldn't have let my wife leave when she is carrying my child!" Natsu yelled "And I can feel it through our bond that she is in trouble."

"Calm down, and we will find her," Gray said coming over to him.

"If anything happens to her again I can't…"

"We know, and when you get to her apologize for being an overprotective brute and let her do small jobs around town like helping the elderly," Mira said giving him a piece of paper that had the info from the job Lucy took.

"I'm truly sorry that she did this to you," Levy said rubbing her belly. "If I was here I would have tried to talk her out of it."

….

Lucy opened her eyes to see that she was tied down to a chair. Her arms were starting to sting from it being tied so tightly. She gave a quick look around and saw that there were photos of her and Narstu taken in secrecy. They wanted her and her child. Tears filled her eyes at the thought of falling for the trap.

"Looks like the bitch is awake," someone laughed. "Too bad we can't do anything with her yet."

"Well just by having her here it's torturing her husband," another voice said. "It'll be a nice payback for what he did to our master when she was slutting around. Especially when we take their child and raise it to be evil."

"Don't you dare touch my child!" Lucy yelled.

"Like you have a choice in the matter."

She felt her mark on her body burn as she cried. Lucy now felt terrible for not listening to Natsu about not going on any missions. He was only looking out for her and their child, and because of here they were now in trouble.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Lucy tugged on the ropes that bound her arms. She stressed about what would happen to her child if she couldn't get free. Through her bond she could feel Natsu's anger. Looking at her hip she saw that her keys were not there.

"What did you do with my key's?" Lucy growled before her stomach rumbled in hunger.

"Of course we took them away even though we have a cloaking against your celestial magic," the male with black hair said.

"Bastards!"

"Now be good and eat this," he said tossing a plate with cheese and bread on it in front of her.

Lucy looked at the plate and frowned. "You do realize you made a major mistake in kidnapping me since my husband is a dragon slayer right?"

They just laughed at her words and left her in her cell. Looking around Lucy tried to find something sharp she could try to use to cut the rope. On the corner of the table was a nail sticking slightly out. Quietly she shifted her hands and started to work on the ropes. Whenever she heard someone approach her cell Lucy would stop and eat a little bit of the cheese and stale bread they had left her. What felt like hours later, Lucy finally felt the ropes begin to slack. Quickly she undid the ropes. Making sure the coast was clear; she worked on unlocking the door. Trying to stay calm her hands made fast work of the lock.

Two steps out of the cell Lucy was blasted into the wall of the cell. Pain shot through her body and stayed in her stomach. Her arms wrapped tightly around her middle.

"Now now, you don't think we would have let you escape right?" someone with a rough voice said. "I hope that blast didn't do much to your child. Although…it would just speed up our plan with you if you lose the child. I mean, it will still hurt you both if the child dies."

Lucy couldn't move due to the pain. Tears streamed down her face as fear of losing her child consumed her. Her only hope now was that Natsu would find her and bring help with him.

. . .

"I need to find her now!" Natsu yelled jumping off the train. "Something is wrong with the baby."

"Oh no," Wendy whispered grabbing Grey's and Erza's arm. "We all have to be very careful around Natsu right now. He will flip at any moment and go on a rampage if he feels like he is about to lose either Lucy or the baby. Dragon slayers are very protective of their mate and offspring. It's why Gajeel and Natsu won't let Levy or Lucy out of their sight or protective circle."

"Okay, if Natsu losses it what do we do?" Erza asked.

"We protect the innocent. You never get between a dragon slayer and an injured mate."

"I guess it's a good thing that I know where she is," Loke said appearing out of nowhere.

"Asshole, why didn't you protect them," Natsu growled wrapping his hand around his throat.

"They had magic that blocked me, but it also led me to where they are," Loke choked staying calm.

"Lead the way then."

. . .

Lucy heard commotion outside her cell. Even though she wanted to move she couldn't. Her fear of hurting the baby spiked as more pain coursed through her body.

"Natsu," Lucy whispered squeezing her eyes.

Sweat was starting to bead on her forehead as the commotion got louder. She couldn't tell how long she laid there listening to the sounds of people shouting and things breaking. When someone laid their hand on her shoulder she tensed. Lucy then felt a calming energy flow through her and knew it was Wendy.

"Don't move, you and the baby are still in danger," Wendy said when Lucy started to move. "There's a lot of internal bleeding especially in the uterus."

"I'm sorry," Lucy cried as her heart rate sped up.

"Lucy calm down, it's not good for the baby," Erza, could you get her a blanket to cover her? I don't think she'd like it if the others saw the blood."

"Of course, having anyone see blood in an intimate area is deathly embarrassing for any female," Erza replied.

"What's this I hear about blood?" Natsu asked kneeling down next to Wendy. Flames encircled his body when he saw the blood.

"She's fine, and so is the baby," Wendy told him giving him a smile. "I got to her just in time to save them both. Although I will have to put her on bed rest for at least two months."

Erza returned with the blanket and handed it to Natsu. He then covered her with the blanket before kissing her forehead. His hand went to her belly as he watched the tears streak down from her closed eyes. Even though it was very faint he could hear Lucy apologize over and over again.

"Okay, I've healed the worst of it, but she's going to have to be on bed rest for the next couple of months," Wendy said leaning back.

"Thank you Wendy," Natsu said picking Lucy up in her arms.

Her keys jingled from his hip as he carried her out of the cage.

"You found me," Lucy whispered curling up even more in his arms.

"I will always find you no matter what," he replied kissing her hairline. "Just never do this again…please…I can't live without you."

"Okay," Lucy replied with a shaky breath. "You're going to be even more overbearing now aren't you?"

"We almost lost our child, and you are being put on bed rest. Do you really think I will be less overbearing?"

"I'm so sorry…and I'm sorry you have an idiot as a mate," she whispered.

"I still love you, now and forever," Natsu chuckled

"Hold me while I sleep?" Lucy asked.

"Always."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

It has been two days since Natsu returned with Lucy. He made sure that she was within eyesight or hearing distance, which drove her crazy. Yes she knew that her actions almost cost them their child, but being stuck in bed all day was driving her crazy. She tried to write for a bit, but she couldn't get in a comfortable writing position. Lucy was so frustrated that she couldn't get comfortable to write that she ended up throwing her stuff across the room. In a fit of rage she got up to go to the toilet, even though she was told to stay off her feet. Her legs ached as she leaned on anything she could to support her as she walked to the bathroom. Once there her legs gave out. By that time she couldn't hold it in any longer. Tears of frustration and embarrassment fell from her eyes. Lucy was able to reach her bath towel that Natsu had left on the counter to try and clean the mess up.

Unfortunately her clothes started to feel uncomfortable as she moved her tired legs. Everything was wet and warm, but the worst part was that she smelled. More tears started to stream down her face when she realized that she couldn't bathe by herself.

"Luce, what's the problem?" Natsu asked stepping into their room.

"I can't go to the bathroom by myself…I reek of pee," she cried.

"Okay, I'll start the shower."

"I can't even do that by myself, because I'm a horrible mom…and a horrible wife."

"Aw Luce, don't be so hard on yourself."

"You're not the one that did something stupid that put our child in danger," she replied head down to avoid his eyes.

"We're not going to fight over this okay," Natsu said picking her up and carrying her to the shower. "Our baby is fine, you're safe, and you are just upset because you like to be independent."

Lucy didn't say anything as Natsu undressed her. Everything that had happened continued to go around and around in circles in her head. Maybe she wasn't ready to be a mother. She was selfish enough to go on a mission when she was this far along. If it weren't for her they wouldn't have almost lost her child. Even though she knew she wasn't supposed to walk on her own, she still got up to go to the bathroom. Lost in her own thoughts Lucy didn't realize that the shower was over until she felt the warmth of Natsu's power cover her body to dry her off. He set her down on the bed before he went to clean up the mess on the bathroom floor. When he came back Lucy noticed that he had a baggy shirt and a pair of underwear in his hands. Tears filled her eyes as she watched him toss the clothes in the laundry. Natsu saw the tears and his face fell. He quickly grabbed a baggy shirt and helped her dressed.

"Luce, why are you cying?" Natsu asked wrapping his arms around her.

"This is all your fault!" she cried "You're the one that got me pregnant, and now I'm helpless. I'm going to make a terrible mother."

"Do you want me to go?" Natsu sighed.

"No."

"Is this really about me?"

"…No."

"Is this really about you?"

Lucy started to cry harder. Natsu started to rub her back trying to calm her down. After a bit she started to calm down.

"Are you ready to tell me?" Natsu asked kissing her cheek.

"I miss my mom," Lucy whispered. "I…I just cant help but think that she'd be supper disappointed in me. She wouldn't be happy with me going on a mission while pregnant. She'd be mad at me for almost losing our baby. Even though she wouldn't be happy with me I still wish that she'd be here with me. I'm scared that I'm going to screw up again."

"Hey, she would never be disappointed or mad at you."

"Are you sure?" she sniffled.

"Positive. I could never be disappointed in you because I love you just like she did."

"Stay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Always." He smiled lying down next to her and pulling the blankets up over them.


End file.
